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

Marks Group Wealth Management Inc boosted its stake in shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 0.7% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 35,220 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after buying an additional 257 shares during the period. Salesforce comprises 1.1% of Marks Group Wealth Management Inc’s holdings, making the stock its 12th biggest position. 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 institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Bear Mountain Capital Inc. bought a new position in Salesforce during the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. Kathleen S. Wright Associates Inc. purchased a new stake in Salesforce in the 4th quarter worth about $31,000. Pacifica Partners Inc. lifted its stake in Salesforce by 333.3% in the fourth quarter. Pacifica Partners Inc. now owns 130 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. BKM Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Salesforce in the fourth quarter worth approximately $34,000. Finally, AlphaMark Advisors LLC increased its stake in Salesforce by 892.9% in the fourth quarter. AlphaMark Advisors LLC now owns 139 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 125 shares during the period. 80.43% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Salesforce Price Performance

Shares of Salesforce stock traded up $3.46 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $273.83. The stock had a trading volume of 6,741,842 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,712,625. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $297.00 and its 200 day moving average is $262.79. The company has a current ratio of 1.09, a quick 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 firm has a market capitalization of $265.62 billion, a PE ratio of 65.20, a PEG ratio of 2.08 and a beta of 1.28.

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 analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.72 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $9.29 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.22 billion. Salesforce had a return on equity of 10.42% and a net margin of 11.87%. Salesforce’s quarterly revenue was up 10.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.01 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 11th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 14th were issued a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.58%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 13th. Salesforce’s payout ratio is presently 9.52%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on CRM shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Salesforce from $260.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 29th. TheStreet raised shares of Salesforce from a “c+” rating to a “b-” rating in a research note on Friday, January 19th. Oppenheimer increased their target price on Salesforce from $300.00 to $325.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 12th. Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on Salesforce from $310.00 to $355.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 29th. Finally, Bank of America boosted their target price on shares of Salesforce from $350.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 29th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-four have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $310.61.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Srinivas Tallapragada sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $283.12, for a total value of $2,831,200.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 60,416 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $17,104,977.92. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other news, insider Srinivas Tallapragada sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, January 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $283.12, for a total transaction of $2,831,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 60,416 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $17,104,977.92. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Parker Harris sold 4,200 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $299.60, for a total transaction of $1,258,320.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 104,904 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $31,429,238.40. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 596,595 shares of company stock worth $175,648,172. Company insiders own 3.70% 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.