Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) Shares Purchased by Archer Investment Corp

Archer Investment Corp increased its stake in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 19.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 445 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 73 shares during the quarter. Archer Investment Corp’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $117,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Telos Capital Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Salesforce in the 4th quarter worth $649,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. purchased a new stake in Salesforce in the 4th quarter worth $164,000. Sfmg LLC increased its holdings in Salesforce by 1.8% in the 4th quarter. Sfmg LLC now owns 18,630 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $4,902,000 after acquiring an additional 324 shares in the last quarter. Scissortail Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Salesforce in the 4th quarter worth $978,000. Finally, Tyche Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Salesforce in the 4th quarter worth $673,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.43% of the company’s stock.

Salesforce Stock Performance

Shares of Salesforce stock opened at $276.33 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.09, a current ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. The firm has a market capitalization of $268.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 65.79, a P/E/G ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 1.28. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $298.10 and its two-hundred day moving average is $260.89. Salesforce, Inc. has a 52 week low of $190.57 and a 52 week high of $318.71.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last announced 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. The business had revenue of $9.29 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.22 billion. Salesforce had a net margin of 11.87% and a return on equity of 10.42%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.01 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 11th. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 0.58%. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 9.52%.

Insider Transactions at Salesforce

In other news, insider R David Schmaier sold 3,910 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $274.77, for a total transaction of $1,074,350.70. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 19,463 shares in the company, valued at $5,347,848.51. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 216 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $278.71, for a total transaction of $60,201.36. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 2,869 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $799,618.99. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider R David Schmaier sold 3,910 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $274.77, for a total value of $1,074,350.70. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 19,463 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,347,848.51. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 907,149 shares of company stock worth $262,952,448. Insiders own 3.70% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently commented on CRM. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on shares of Salesforce from $325.00 to $335.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 29th. Truist Financial reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $360.00 target price (up previously from $275.00) on shares of Salesforce in a report on Thursday, February 29th. Morgan Stanley raised shares of Salesforce from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $290.00 to $350.00 in a report on Thursday, December 21st. StockNews.com lowered shares of Salesforce from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 19th. Finally, Bank of America upped their target price on shares of Salesforce from $350.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 29th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-four have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $307.87.

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.