Marks Group Wealth Management Inc Acquires 257 Shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Marks Group Wealth Management Inc lifted its position in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 0.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 35,220 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 257 shares during the quarter. Salesforce accounts for approximately 1.1% of Marks Group Wealth Management Inc’s holdings, making the stock its 12th biggest holding. Marks Group Wealth Management Inc’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $9,268,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. National Wealth Management Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of Salesforce by 6.7% during the fourth quarter. National Wealth Management Group LLC now owns 2,406 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $633,000 after acquiring an additional 152 shares during the period. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund lifted its holdings in Salesforce by 4.4% in the fourth quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund now owns 45,086 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $11,864,000 after buying an additional 1,880 shares during the period. 1900 Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Salesforce in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $255,000. Aspire Private Capital LLC raised its position in shares of Salesforce by 4.9% during the 4th quarter. Aspire Private Capital LLC now owns 3,023 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $795,000 after acquiring an additional 142 shares during the last quarter. Finally, California Public Employees Retirement System lifted its stake in shares of Salesforce by 20.9% in the 4th quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 2,431,933 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $639,939,000 after purchasing an additional 420,231 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.43% of the company’s stock.

Salesforce Trading Up 1.3 %

Shares of Salesforce stock traded up $3.46 during trading on Monday, hitting $273.83. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 6,741,842 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,712,625. The stock has a market cap of $265.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 65.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.08 and a beta of 1.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a current ratio of 1.09 and a quick ratio of 1.09. Salesforce, Inc. has a 52 week low of $190.57 and a 52 week high of $318.71. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $297.00 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $262.79.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 28th. The CRM provider reported $1.78 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.72 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $9.29 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.22 billion. Salesforce had a net margin of 11.87% and a return on equity of 10.42%. Salesforce’s revenue was up 10.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.01 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 11th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 14th were issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.58%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 13th. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio is currently 9.52%.

Insider Transactions at Salesforce

In related news, CEO Marc Benioff sold 15,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, April 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $270.94, for a total transaction of $4,064,100.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 12,827,327 shares in the company, valued at $3,475,435,977.38. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In related news, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 216 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 2,869 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $799,618.99. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Marc Benioff sold 15,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, April 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $270.94, for a total transaction of $4,064,100.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 12,827,327 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,475,435,977.38. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 596,595 shares of company stock valued at $175,648,172 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 3.70% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on Salesforce from $350.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday. Truist Financial reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $360.00 price target (up previously from $275.00) on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Thursday, February 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Salesforce from $260.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 29th. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on Salesforce from $310.00 to $355.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 29th. Finally, JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market outperform” rating and set a $342.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Monday, April 15th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-four have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Salesforce currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $310.61.

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.