Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) Shares Bought by Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc.

Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 2.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 5,397,516 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 145,625 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. owned approximately 0.56% of Salesforce worth $1,420,302,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the business. Bear Mountain Capital Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Salesforce in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Signature Resources Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Salesforce during the 4th quarter worth $26,000. Kathleen S. Wright Associates Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Salesforce in the fourth quarter valued at about $31,000. Pacifica Partners Inc. increased its position in Salesforce by 333.3% during the fourth quarter. Pacifica Partners Inc. now owns 130 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Finally, BKM Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Salesforce during the fourth quarter worth about $34,000. 80.43% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Salesforce

In other Salesforce news, CEO Marc Benioff sold 15,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $275.45, for a total transaction of $4,131,750.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 12,662,327 shares in the company, valued at $3,487,837,972.15. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, CEO Marc Benioff sold 15,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $275.45, for a total transaction of $4,131,750.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 12,662,327 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,487,837,972.15. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 2,425 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $273.15, for a total value 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 $1,599,566.40. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 619,993 shares of company stock valued at $181,048,574. Company insiders own 3.70% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the company. StockNews.com lowered Salesforce from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 19th. TheStreet upgraded Salesforce from a “c+” rating to a “b-” rating in a research note on Friday, January 19th. Evercore ISI upped their price target on Salesforce from $290.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 29th. JMP Securities restated a “market outperform” rating and set a $342.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Monday, April 15th. Finally, UBS Group increased their price objective on Salesforce from $285.00 to $310.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, February 16th. Nine investment 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 MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $310.61.

Salesforce Stock Up 0.6 %

Salesforce stock traded up $1.74 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $278.92. 1,363,641 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,480,609. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $293.29 and its 200-day moving average price is $267.99. The company has a market cap of $269.99 billion, a PE ratio of 66.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 1.30. 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, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $193.68 and a fifty-two week high of $318.71.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last released its quarterly earnings results 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 firm had revenue of $9.29 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.22 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.01 EPS. Salesforce’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts predict that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 11th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 14th were given a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.57%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 13th. Salesforce’s payout ratio is 9.52%.

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.