Fidelis Capital Partners LLC Acquires 1,850 Shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Fidelis Capital Partners LLC raised its holdings in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 34.7% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 7,175 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,850 shares during the quarter. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $1,888,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Bear Mountain Capital Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Salesforce in the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. BKM Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Salesforce in the 4th quarter valued at $34,000. Pacifica Partners Inc. increased its stake in shares of Salesforce by 333.3% in the 4th quarter. Pacifica Partners Inc. now owns 130 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the period. AlphaMark Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Salesforce by 892.9% in the 4th quarter. AlphaMark Advisors LLC now owns 139 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $37,000 after buying an additional 125 shares during the period. Finally, Glass Jacobson Investment Advisors llc acquired a new stake in shares of Salesforce in the 4th quarter valued at $37,000. 80.43% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Marc Benioff sold 15,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $315.54, for a total value of $4,733,100.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 13,311,166 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,200,205,319.64. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, COO Brian Millham sold 293,965 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, January 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $280.00, for a total value of $82,310,200.00. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Marc Benioff sold 15,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, March 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $315.54, for a total value of $4,733,100.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 13,311,166 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,200,205,319.64. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 922,149 shares of company stock valued at $267,104,898. 3.70% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CRM has been the subject of several research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Salesforce from $260.00 to $310.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 29th. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $345.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Monday. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $350.00 price objective (up from $325.00) on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Friday, April 12th. Citigroup lifted their price objective on Salesforce from $265.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, February 26th. Finally, Mizuho reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $345.00 price objective (up from $325.00) on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Thursday, February 29th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-four have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $307.87.

Salesforce Stock Performance

NYSE:CRM traded down $4.47 on Thursday, hitting $271.85. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 5,916,238 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,708,409. The company has a current ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $298.10 and a two-hundred day moving average of $260.89. The firm has a market capitalization of $263.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 64.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 1.28. Salesforce, Inc. has a one year low of $190.57 and a one year high of $318.71.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 28th. The CRM provider reported $1.78 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.72 by $0.06. Salesforce had a return on equity of 10.42% and a net margin of 11.87%. The firm had revenue of $9.29 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.22 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.01 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.45 earnings per share for the current year.

Salesforce Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 11th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 14th were given a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.59%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 13th. Salesforce’s payout ratio is 9.52%.

About Salesforce

Salesforce, Inc provides Customer Relationship Management (CRM) technology that brings companies and customers together worldwide. The company's service includes sales to store data, monitor leads and progress, forecast opportunities, gain insights through analytics and artificial intelligence, and deliver quotes, contracts, and invoices; and service that enables companies to deliver trusted and highly personalized customer support at scale.