Confluence Wealth Services Inc. Raises Stock Position in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Confluence Wealth Services Inc. raised its holdings in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 8.7% during the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 2,104 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 169 shares during the period. Confluence Wealth Services Inc.’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $634,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CRM. Capital World Investors raised its position in shares of Salesforce by 2.4% in the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 19,561,325 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $5,147,402,000 after acquiring an additional 457,463 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Salesforce by 5.3% in the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 14,921,042 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $3,926,323,000 after purchasing an additional 752,566 shares in the last quarter. Capital International Investors raised its holdings in Salesforce by 76.4% in the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 13,708,615 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $3,607,493,000 after purchasing an additional 5,935,973 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp raised its holdings in Salesforce by 1.1% in the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 11,195,108 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $2,270,144,000 after purchasing an additional 121,436 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new position in Salesforce during the fourth quarter worth approximately $2,762,331,000. 80.43% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO Amy E. Weaver sold 7,075 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $309.32, for a total transaction of $2,188,439.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 38,483 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,903,561.56. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In related news, CFO Amy E. Weaver sold 7,075 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction on Friday, March 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $309.32, for a total value of $2,188,439.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 38,483 shares in the company, valued at $11,903,561.56. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Marc Benioff sold 15,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $274.79, for a total value of $4,121,850.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 12,737,327 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,500,090,086.33. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 625,793 shares of company stock worth $183,318,868 over the last three months. Company insiders own 3.70% of the company’s stock.

Salesforce Trading Down 2.5 %

Shares of CRM stock traded down $6.80 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $268.94. The company had a trading volume of 5,211,266 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,632,453. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $260.87 billion, a PE ratio of 64.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 1.28. The company’s fifty day moving average is $295.34 and its 200 day moving average is $265.65. Salesforce, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $190.76 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 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 company 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 firm earned $1.01 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 10.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 11th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 14th were given a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.59%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 13th. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio is currently 9.52%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently commented on CRM shares. Piper Sandler restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $300.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Monday, April 15th. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $285.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, February 16th. KeyCorp initiated coverage on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Thursday, March 21st. They issued a “sector weight” rating on the stock. Canaccord Genuity Group restated a “buy” rating and set a $350.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Thursday, March 7th. Finally, Argus lifted their price objective on Salesforce from $290.00 to $354.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 6th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-four have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Salesforce has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target 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.