Zhang Financial LLC Raises Holdings in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Zhang Financial LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 128.5% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 3,213 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,807 shares during the period. Zhang Financial LLC’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $968,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Salesforce during the fourth quarter worth about $2,762,331,000. Capital International Investors lifted its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 76.4% during the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 13,708,615 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $3,607,493,000 after purchasing an additional 5,935,973 shares during the period. Cerity Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 1,254.7% during the fourth quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 3,483,670 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $916,693,000 after purchasing an additional 3,226,512 shares during the period. Coatue Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Salesforce during the fourth quarter worth about $564,188,000. Finally, DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main lifted its holdings in Salesforce by 110.3% in the fourth quarter. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main now owns 3,394,912 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $893,336,000 after acquiring an additional 1,780,421 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.43% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Amy E. Weaver sold 942 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $305.46, for a total transaction of $287,743.32. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 39,416 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,040,011.36. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 2,425 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $273.15, for a total transaction of $662,388.75. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 5,856 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,599,566.40. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Amy E. Weaver sold 942 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $305.46, for a total value of $287,743.32. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 39,416 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,040,011.36. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 644,699 shares of company stock valued at $187,503,574. 3.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have issued reports on CRM. Evercore ISI boosted their price target on Salesforce from $290.00 to $330.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 29th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on Salesforce from $325.00 to $335.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 29th. Bank of America boosted their price target on Salesforce from $350.00 to $360.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 29th. Piper Sandler reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $300.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a report on Monday, April 15th. Finally, Wedbush boosted their price target on Salesforce from $280.00 to $325.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 29th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-four have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $310.61.

Salesforce Trading Up 0.0 %

Shares of CRM traded up $0.03 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $283.79. The company had a trading volume of 3,308,208 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,311,466. Salesforce, Inc. has a 1-year low of $193.68 and a 1-year high of $318.71. The stock has a market cap of $274.71 billion, a PE ratio of 67.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 1.30. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $287.88 and a 200-day simple moving average of $273.68. The company has a quick ratio of 1.09, a current ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 28th. The CRM provider reported $1.78 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.72 by $0.06. Salesforce had a return on equity of 10.42% and a net margin of 11.87%. The business 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. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.8% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 11th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 14th were paid a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.56%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 13th. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.