Allen Capital Group LLC Takes $243,000 Position in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Allen Capital Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 923 shares of the CRM provider’s stock, valued at approximately $243,000.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. State Street Corp increased its position in shares of Salesforce by 0.9% during the first quarter. State Street Corp now owns 45,509,345 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $9,091,832,000 after acquiring an additional 391,648 shares in the last quarter. Morgan Stanley increased its holdings in Salesforce by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 19,003,836 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $2,519,719,000 after purchasing an additional 149,012 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp raised its stake in shares of Salesforce by 1.1% in the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 11,195,108 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $2,270,144,000 after purchasing an additional 121,436 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Salesforce in the fourth quarter valued at about $1,420,381,000. Finally, Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Salesforce by 125,717.4% during the fourth quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 10,260,412 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $1,360,428,000 after buying an additional 10,252,257 shares during the period. 80.43% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Salesforce Stock Performance

Shares of Salesforce stock opened at $277.41 on Wednesday. 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 company has a market cap of $269.09 billion, a PE ratio of 66.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 1.28. The company has a 50 day moving average of $298.35 and a 200-day moving average of $260.79. Salesforce, Inc. has a 1-year low of $190.57 and a 1-year high of $318.71.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 28th. The CRM provider reported $1.78 earnings per share 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 firm had revenue of $9.29 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.22 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.01 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 10.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Announces Dividend

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

Insider Transactions at Salesforce

In related news, CEO Marc Benioff sold 15,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 approximately $4,200,205,319.64. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other Salesforce news, CEO Marc Benioff sold 15,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 13,311,166 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,200,205,319.64. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Parker Harris sold 4,200 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $301.75, for a total value of $1,267,350.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 105,837 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $31,936,314.75. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 897,375 shares of company stock valued at $260,206,096. 3.70% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently commented on CRM shares. Truist Financial reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $360.00 price objective (up previously from $275.00) on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Thursday, February 29th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on Salesforce from $325.00 to $335.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 29th. Robert W. Baird raised their price target on Salesforce from $310.00 to $355.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 29th. Argus upped their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $290.00 to $354.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 6th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Salesforce from $280.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 21st. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-four have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $307.87.

Salesforce 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.