Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) Shares Purchased by Aspire Private Capital LLC

Aspire Private Capital LLC lifted its position in shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 4.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,023 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after buying an additional 142 shares during the period. Aspire Private Capital LLC’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $795,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Walkner Condon Financial Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Salesforce by 2.9% in the 3rd quarter. Walkner Condon Financial Advisors LLC now owns 2,633 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $534,000 after purchasing an additional 74 shares in the last quarter. Roman Butler Fullerton & Co. grew its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. Roman Butler Fullerton & Co. now owns 7,881 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $2,206,000 after purchasing an additional 105 shares in the last quarter. Pure Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Salesforce during the fourth quarter worth $214,000. Riversedge Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Salesforce by 21.7% during the 3rd quarter. Riversedge Advisors LLC now owns 2,353 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $477,000 after acquiring an additional 420 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Lone Pine Capital LLC boosted its holdings in Salesforce by 47.5% during the third quarter. Lone Pine Capital LLC now owns 2,499,630 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $506,875,000 after purchasing an additional 804,634 shares in the last quarter. 80.43% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Srinivas Tallapragada sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $283.12, for a total transaction of $2,831,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 60,416 shares in the company, valued at $17,104,977.92. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other Salesforce news, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 216 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $278.71, for a total transaction of $60,201.36. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 2,869 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $799,618.99. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Srinivas Tallapragada sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $283.12, for a total transaction of $2,831,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 60,416 shares in the company, valued at approximately $17,104,977.92. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 596,595 shares of company stock valued at $175,648,172. Insiders own 3.70% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CRM has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on Salesforce from $350.00 to $360.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday. 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 research report on Thursday, February 29th. Stifel Nicolaus reissued a “buy” rating and set a $350.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $350.00 price objective (up previously from $325.00) on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Friday, April 12th. Finally, Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on Salesforce from $310.00 to $355.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 29th. Nine 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. According to MarketBeat.com, Salesforce presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $310.61.

Salesforce Trading Up 1.3 %

Shares of NYSE:CRM traded up $3.46 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $273.83. The company had a trading volume of 6,741,842 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,712,625. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a current ratio of 1.09 and a quick ratio of 1.09. The company has a market capitalization of $265.62 billion, a PE ratio of 65.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.08 and a beta of 1.28. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $297.28 and a 200 day moving average price of $262.29. Salesforce, Inc. has a one year low of $190.57 and a one year high of $318.71.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 28th. The CRM provider reported $1.78 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.72 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $9.29 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.22 billion. Salesforce had a return on equity of 10.42% and a net margin of 11.87%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.01 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.45 EPS for the current 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 issued 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 currently 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.