Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd Purchases 2,035 Shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd lifted its position in shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 53.2% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 5,859 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,035 shares during the period. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $1,542,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in CRM. Bear Mountain Capital Inc. bought a new position in shares of Salesforce during the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. Kathleen S. Wright Associates Inc. bought a new stake in Salesforce in the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. Pacifica Partners Inc. raised its position 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 acquiring an additional 100 shares during the period. BKM Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Salesforce in the fourth quarter worth about $34,000. Finally, AlphaMark Advisors LLC raised its position 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 acquiring an additional 125 shares during the period. 80.43% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Salesforce Trading Up 1.0 %

Salesforce stock traded up $2.82 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $276.63. 6,283,041 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,718,907. 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 firm’s 50 day moving average price is $296.91 and its 200 day moving average price is $263.28. The firm has a market capitalization of $268.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 65.86, a P/E/G ratio of 2.08 and a beta of 1.28. Salesforce, Inc. has a 52-week low of $190.57 and a 52-week high of $318.71.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 28th. The CRM provider reported $1.78 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.72 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $9.29 billion for 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 company’s quarterly revenue was up 10.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.01 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Salesforce

In other Salesforce news, CEO Marc Benioff sold 15,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $315.54, for a total transaction of $4,733,100.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 13,311,166 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,200,205,319.64. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, CEO Marc Benioff sold 15,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 1st. The shares were 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 $4,200,205,319.64. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, COO Brian Millham sold 393 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $280.00, for a total transaction of $110,040.00. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 631,982 shares of company stock worth $185,360,646. Company insiders own 3.70% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have commented on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $350.00 price objective (up previously from $325.00) on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Friday, April 12th. Oppenheimer lifted their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $300.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 12th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Salesforce from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 19th. KeyCorp started coverage on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Thursday, March 21st. They issued a “sector weight” rating for the company. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $350.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-four have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $310.61.

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.