Archer Investment Corp Acquires 73 Shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Archer Investment Corp boosted its holdings in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 19.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 445 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 73 shares during the period. Archer Investment Corp’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $117,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in CRM. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Salesforce in the fourth quarter valued at about $1,420,381,000. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Salesforce by 125,717.4% during the fourth quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 10,260,412 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $1,360,428,000 after buying an additional 10,252,257 shares during the period. Cerity Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Salesforce by 1,254.7% during the fourth quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 3,483,670 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $916,693,000 after buying an additional 3,226,512 shares during the period. Starboard Value LP purchased a new position in shares of Salesforce during the fourth quarter valued at about $401,215,000. Finally, Barclays PLC increased its position in shares of Salesforce by 99.7% during the second quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 3,196,861 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $675,370,000 after buying an additional 1,595,733 shares during the period. 80.43% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Salesforce Stock Down 0.4 %

Shares of Salesforce stock opened at $276.33 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.09, a current ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. Salesforce, Inc. has a twelve month low of $190.57 and a twelve month high of $318.71. The company has a market cap of $268.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 65.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 1.28. The company’s 50 day moving average is $298.10 and its 200 day moving average is $260.89.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 28th. The CRM provider reported $1.78 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.72 by $0.06. Salesforce had a net margin of 11.87% and a return on equity of 10.42%. The business had revenue of $9.29 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.22 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.01 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 10.8% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts anticipate 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. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 14th were given a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 13th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.58%. Salesforce’s payout ratio is presently 9.52%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Argus boosted their price target on shares of Salesforce from $290.00 to $354.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 6th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $280.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 21st. Oppenheimer upped their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $300.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, February 12th. Wedbush upped their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $280.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 29th. Finally, 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 report on Friday, February 16th. Nine investment 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’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $307.87.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Salesforce news, insider R David Schmaier sold 3,910 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $274.77, for a total value of $1,074,350.70. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 19,463 shares in the company, valued at $5,347,848.51. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 216 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $278.71, for a total value of $60,201.36. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 2,869 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $799,618.99. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider R David Schmaier sold 3,910 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $274.77, for a total transaction of $1,074,350.70. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 19,463 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,347,848.51. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 907,149 shares of company stock worth $262,952,448. Company insiders own 3.70% of the company’s stock.

About Salesforce

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.