ERn Financial LLC Invests $202,000 in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

ERn Financial LLC bought a new position in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 670 shares of the CRM provider’s stock, valued at approximately $202,000.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in CRM. Bear Mountain Capital Inc. purchased a new position in Salesforce in the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Signature Resources Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Salesforce during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Kathleen S. Wright Associates Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Salesforce during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Pacifica Partners Inc. boosted its position in shares of Salesforce by 333.3% during the fourth quarter. Pacifica Partners Inc. now owns 130 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the period. Finally, BKM Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Salesforce during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $34,000. 80.43% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Salesforce Stock Up 4.0 %

Shares of NYSE:CRM opened at $252.97 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $245.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 45.50, a PEG ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 1.25. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $260.43 and its 200-day simple moving average is $276.33. The company has a quick ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. Salesforce, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $193.68 and a fifty-two week high of $318.71.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, May 29th. The CRM provider reported $2.44 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.38 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $9.13 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.15 billion. Salesforce had a net margin of 15.30% and a return on equity of 11.57%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 10.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.15 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.47 earnings per share for the current year.

Salesforce Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 25th. Investors of record on Tuesday, July 9th will be issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.63%. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio is currently 7.19%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have issued reports on CRM shares. StockNews.com lowered Salesforce from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on shares of Salesforce from $310.00 to $300.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. Robert W. Baird decreased their price target on shares of Salesforce from $355.00 to $295.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. Macquarie decreased their price target on shares of Salesforce from $330.00 to $275.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 31st. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $350.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Friday, May 24th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating, twenty-five have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $292.79.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director G Mason Morfit acquired 428,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 3rd. The shares were purchased at an average price of $233.17 per share, with a total value of $99,796,760.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 3,914,309 shares in the company, valued at $912,699,429.53. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other Salesforce news, Director G Mason Morfit bought 428,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 3rd. The stock was bought at an average price of $233.17 per share, for a total transaction of $99,796,760.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 3,914,309 shares in the company, valued at approximately $912,699,429.53. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Marc Benioff sold 15,000 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $305.42, for a total transaction of $4,581,300.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 12,981,166 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,964,707,719.72. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 541,787 shares of company stock valued at $149,773,683. Corporate insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

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.