NCM Capital Management LLC Makes New Investment in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

NCM Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 641 shares of the CRM provider’s stock, valued at approximately $214,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Salesforce by 15.0% during the fourth quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC now owns 36,473 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $12,194,000 after acquiring an additional 4,752 shares during the last quarter. Athena Investment Management bought a new position in Salesforce in the 4th quarter worth approximately $236,000. Highland Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Salesforce in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $4,321,000. Jag Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Salesforce by 2,507.9% during the 4th quarter. Jag Capital Management LLC now owns 23,706 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $7,926,000 after acquiring an additional 22,797 shares during the period. Finally, Lecap Asset Management Ltd. acquired a new position in Salesforce during the 4th quarter worth $2,861,000. 80.43% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on CRM shares. Loop Capital cut their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $330.00 to $300.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Citigroup reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Wednesday, March 19th. Oppenheimer lowered their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $415.00 to $380.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Jefferies Financial Group cut their target price on Salesforce from $425.00 to $375.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, March 31st. Finally, Macquarie reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $320.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating, thirty-two have assigned a buy rating and five have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $352.62.

Salesforce Price Performance

NYSE CRM opened at $287.64 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. The stock has a market capitalization of $276.53 billion, a PE ratio of 47.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 1.42. Salesforce, Inc. has a 12-month low of $212.00 and a 12-month high of $369.00. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $268.48 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $307.02.

Salesforce Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 24th. Investors of record on Thursday, April 10th were paid a $0.42 dividend. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.58%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 10th. This is a positive change from Salesforce’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. Salesforce’s payout ratio is presently 26.10%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Salesforce news, insider Srinivas Tallapragada sold 6,697 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $295.00, for a total transaction of $1,975,615.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 41,422 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,219,490. This represents a 13.92% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Miguel Milano sold 458 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $307.97, for a total transaction of $141,050.26. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 5,864 shares in the company, valued at $1,805,936.08. This trade represents a 7.24% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 46,306 shares of company stock worth $12,841,368. Corporate insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

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.