Echo45 Advisors LLC Invests $209,000 in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Echo45 Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 794 shares of the CRM provider’s stock, valued at approximately $209,000.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. State Street Corp raised its position in shares of Salesforce by 0.9% in the 1st quarter. State Street Corp now owns 45,509,345 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $9,091,832,000 after acquiring an additional 391,648 shares in the last quarter. Morgan Stanley increased its position in Salesforce by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 19,003,836 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $2,519,719,000 after buying an additional 149,012 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp increased its position in Salesforce by 1.1% during the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 11,195,108 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $2,270,144,000 after buying an additional 121,436 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Salesforce during the 4th quarter valued at about $1,420,381,000. Finally, Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC increased its position in Salesforce by 125,717.4% during the 4th 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 in the last quarter. 80.43% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 216 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 23rd. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at $799,618.99. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 216 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 23rd. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at $799,618.99. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Marc Benioff sold 15,000 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction on Monday, January 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $282.55, for a total value of $4,238,250.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 13,731,166 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,879,740,953.30. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 922,149 shares of company stock worth $267,104,898. Company insiders own 3.70% of the company’s stock.

Salesforce Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:CRM traded down $4.47 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $271.85. The company had a trading volume of 5,916,238 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,708,409. Salesforce, Inc. has a twelve month low of $190.57 and a twelve month high of $318.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a current ratio of 1.09 and a quick ratio of 1.09. The stock has a market cap of $263.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 64.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 1.28. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $298.10 and its 200-day simple moving average is $260.89.

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

Salesforce Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 11th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 14th were given a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 13th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.59%. Salesforce’s payout ratio is 9.52%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently issued reports on CRM shares. Citigroup upped their target price on Salesforce from $265.00 to $325.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, February 26th. UBS Group upped their target price on Salesforce from $285.00 to $310.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, February 16th. Argus upped their target price on Salesforce from $290.00 to $354.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 6th. Stifel Nicolaus reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $350.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. Finally, Wedbush boosted their price target on Salesforce from $280.00 to $325.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 29th. 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’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $307.87.

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.