Marco Investment Management LLC Reduces Position in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Marco Investment Management LLC lessened its stake in shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 3.2% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 50,719 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after selling 1,698 shares during the quarter. Salesforce comprises approximately 1.4% of Marco Investment Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 27th largest holding. Marco Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $13,346,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Bear Mountain Capital Inc. purchased a new stake in Salesforce in the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Kathleen S. Wright Associates Inc. purchased a new stake in Salesforce in the fourth quarter worth $31,000. Pacifica Partners Inc. lifted its stake in Salesforce by 333.3% in the fourth quarter. Pacifica Partners Inc. now owns 130 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the period. BKM Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Salesforce in the fourth quarter worth $34,000. Finally, AlphaMark Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Salesforce by 892.9% in the fourth quarter. AlphaMark Advisors LLC now owns 139 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $37,000 after acquiring an additional 125 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.43% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Salesforce news, CEO Marc Benioff sold 15,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $270.94, for a total value of $4,064,100.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 12,827,327 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,475,435,977.38. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, insider Srinivas Tallapragada sold 10,000 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $283.12, for a total transaction of $2,831,200.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 60,416 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $17,104,977.92. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Marc Benioff sold 15,000 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $270.94, for a total value of $4,064,100.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 12,827,327 shares in the company, valued at $3,475,435,977.38. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 620,793 shares of company stock valued at $182,177,918. Insiders own 3.70% of the company’s stock.

Salesforce Stock Performance

NYSE CRM traded up $1.15 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $274.29. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 3,754,585 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,162,527. Salesforce, Inc. has a 12 month low of $190.76 and a 12 month high of $318.71. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $295.97 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $264.71. The company has a market cap of $266.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 65.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 1.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a current ratio of 1.09 and a quick ratio of 1.09.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 28th. The CRM provider reported $1.78 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 company had revenue of $9.29 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.22 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.01 EPS. Salesforce’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 11th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 14th were given a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 13th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.58%. Salesforce’s payout ratio is 9.52%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently commented on CRM. Mizuho reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $345.00 price target (up previously from $325.00) on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Thursday, February 29th. Argus raised their price objective on Salesforce from $290.00 to $354.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 6th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Salesforce from $280.00 to $290.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 21st. Canaccord Genuity Group reissued a “buy” rating and set a $350.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Thursday, March 7th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered Salesforce from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 19th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-four have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $310.61.

Salesforce Company Profile

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.