Unique Wealth Strategies LLC Takes Position in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Unique Wealth Strategies LLC bought a new stake in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund bought 3,469 shares of the CRM provider’s stock, valued at approximately $913,000.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. DAVENPORT & Co LLC boosted its position in Salesforce by 25.7% during the 3rd quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC now owns 4,411 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $894,000 after buying an additional 901 shares during the period. Advisory Alpha LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Salesforce during the third quarter worth about $293,000. Patriot Financial Group Insurance Agency LLC grew its stake in shares of Salesforce by 7.8% in the third quarter. Patriot Financial Group Insurance Agency LLC now owns 3,193 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $647,000 after purchasing an additional 231 shares during the last quarter. KRS Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Salesforce by 0.9% during the 3rd quarter. KRS Capital Management LLC now owns 5,716 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $1,159,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares during the period. Finally, Progressive Investment Management Corp raised its position in Salesforce by 0.4% during the 3rd quarter. Progressive Investment Management Corp now owns 23,737 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $4,813,000 after purchasing an additional 102 shares during the last quarter. 80.43% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Salesforce Stock Up 0.4 %

CRM stock traded up $1.15 during midday trading 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. The company has a market cap of $266.06 billion, a PE ratio of 65.31, a P/E/G ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 1.28. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $295.97 and its 200-day moving average is $263.90. Salesforce, Inc. has a 12 month low of $190.76 and a 12 month high of $318.71. The company has a current ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14.

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

Salesforce Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 13th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.58%. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 9.52%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Srinivas Tallapragada sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, January 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $283.12, for a total value of $2,831,200.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 60,416 shares in the company, valued at approximately $17,104,977.92. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other news, CEO Marc Benioff sold 15,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, January 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $285.05, for a total value of $4,275,750.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 13,656,166 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,892,690,118.30. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Srinivas Tallapragada sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, January 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $283.12, for a total value of $2,831,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 60,416 shares in the company, valued at $17,104,977.92. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 620,793 shares of company stock worth $182,177,918. 3.70% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Mizuho reissued a “buy” rating and set a $345.00 target price (up from $325.00) on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Thursday, February 29th. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating and set a $345.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Monday, April 15th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $325.00 to $335.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 29th. Wedbush lifted their target price on shares of Salesforce from $280.00 to $325.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 29th. Finally, Wolfe Research reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $365.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Tuesday, April 16th. Nine investment 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $310.61.

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.