Blue Fin Capital Inc. Grows Stock Holdings in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Blue Fin Capital Inc. lifted its position in shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 3.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,350 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 76 shares during the period. Blue Fin Capital Inc.’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $618,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of CRM. Legacy Financial Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 11.8% during the fourth quarter. Legacy Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 5,286 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $1,391,000 after purchasing an additional 557 shares during the last quarter. Sapient Capital LLC bought a new stake in Salesforce in the fourth quarter worth $1,657,000. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Salesforce by 7.0% in the fourth quarter. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC now owns 11,493 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $3,024,000 after acquiring an additional 747 shares during the last quarter. Signature Resources Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Salesforce during the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. Finally, Power Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Salesforce in the 4th quarter worth about $1,731,000. 80.43% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other Salesforce news, CEO Marc Benioff sold 15,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $315.54, for a total value of $4,733,100.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 13,311,166 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,200,205,319.64. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other Salesforce news, insider Parker Harris sold 4,200 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $270.93, for a total transaction of $1,137,906.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 115,762 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $31,363,398.66. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Marc Benioff sold 15,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, March 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $315.54, for a total value of $4,733,100.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 13,311,166 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,200,205,319.64. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 629,993 shares of company stock valued at $184,255,474. 3.70% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have issued reports on the stock. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on shares of Salesforce from $325.00 to $335.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 29th. StockNews.com downgraded Salesforce from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 19th. UBS Group boosted their price target on Salesforce from $285.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, February 16th. KeyCorp started coverage on Salesforce in a report on Thursday, March 21st. They issued a “sector weight” rating for the company. Finally, Argus upped their target price on shares of Salesforce from $290.00 to $354.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-four have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Salesforce presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $310.61.

Salesforce Price Performance

Salesforce stock traded up $1.53 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $273.66. 4,041,636 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,219,539. The stock has a market cap of $264.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 65.16, a PEG ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 1.30. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $294.23 and its 200-day moving average is $266.17. 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 12 month low of $190.76 and a 12 month high of $318.71.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 28th. The CRM provider reported $1.78 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.72 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $9.29 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.22 billion. Salesforce had a net margin of 11.87% and a return on equity of 10.42%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.01 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.45 EPS for the current year.

Salesforce Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 11th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 14th were given a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 13th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.58%. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 9.52%.

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.