Madison Park Capital Advisors LLC Makes New Investment in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Madison Park Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund purchased 1,544 shares of the CRM provider’s stock, valued at approximately $406,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in CRM. Marks Group Wealth Management Inc increased its stake in Salesforce by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Marks Group Wealth Management Inc now owns 35,220 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $9,268,000 after buying an additional 257 shares during the period. Walkner Condon Financial Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Salesforce by 2.9% during the 3rd quarter. Walkner Condon Financial Advisors LLC now owns 2,633 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $534,000 after acquiring an additional 74 shares in the last quarter. Roman Butler Fullerton & Co. grew its holdings in 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 acquiring an additional 105 shares in the last quarter. Pure Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Salesforce during the 4th quarter worth approximately $214,000. Finally, Riversedge Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Salesforce by 21.7% during the 3rd quarter. Riversedge Advisors LLC now owns 2,353 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $477,000 after acquiring an additional 420 shares in the last quarter. 80.43% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Salesforce 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 60,416 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $17,104,977.92. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, insider Srinivas Tallapragada sold 10,000 shares of the firm’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 value of $2,831,200.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 60,416 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $17,104,977.92. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Amy E. Weaver sold 7,075 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $309.32, for a total transaction of $2,188,439.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 38,483 shares in the company, valued at $11,903,561.56. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 611,379 shares of company stock valued at $179,698,420 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 3.70% of the company’s stock.

Salesforce Price Performance

NYSE CRM traded up $2.82 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $276.63. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 6,283,041 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,718,907. The stock has a market cap of $268.33 billion, a PE ratio of 65.86, a PEG ratio of 2.08 and a beta of 1.28. Salesforce, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $190.57 and a fifty-two week high of $318.71. The company’s 50-day moving average is $296.91 and its two-hundred day moving average is $263.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a quick ratio of 1.09 and a current ratio of 1.09.

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

Salesforce Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 13th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.58%. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio is currently 9.52%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CRM has been the subject of several analyst reports. Wolfe Research reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $365.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a report on Tuesday, April 16th. Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of Salesforce from $265.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, February 26th. Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on shares of Salesforce from $310.00 to $355.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 29th. StockNews.com cut shares of Salesforce from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 19th. Finally, Oppenheimer upped their target price on shares of Salesforce from $300.00 to $325.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, February 12th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-four have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Salesforce has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $310.61.

Salesforce Company 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.