Trueblood Wealth Management LLC Makes New Investment in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Trueblood Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 1,783 shares of the CRM provider’s stock, valued at approximately $469,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Salesforce in the 4th quarter valued at about $1,420,381,000. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Salesforce by 125,717.4% in the fourth quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 10,260,412 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $1,360,428,000 after acquiring an additional 10,252,257 shares in the last quarter. Starboard Value LP purchased a new stake in shares of Salesforce during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $401,215,000. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board purchased a new position in Salesforce in the second quarter valued at about $352,498,000. Finally, Barclays PLC grew its position in shares of Salesforce by 99.7% in the 2nd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 3,196,861 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $675,370,000 after acquiring an additional 1,595,733 shares in the last quarter. 80.43% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CRM has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Needham & Company LLC lifted their target price on Salesforce from $275.00 to $345.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 29th. JMP Securities increased their target price on Salesforce from $293.00 to $342.00 and gave the company a “market outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 29th. Truist Financial reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $360.00 target price (up from $275.00) on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Thursday, February 29th. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on Salesforce from $325.00 to $335.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 29th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $350.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Thursday, March 7th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-four have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $304.32.

Salesforce Stock Down 0.1 %

Shares of NYSE:CRM traded down $0.20 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $301.18. 4,877,549 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,764,750. The company has a market cap of $292.14 billion, a PE ratio of 71.75, a P/E/G ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 1.28. Salesforce, Inc. has a twelve month low of $187.31 and a twelve month high of $318.71. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $294.19 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $252.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a quick ratio of 1.09 and a current ratio of 1.09.

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, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.01 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 11th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.53%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, March 13th. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio is presently 9.52%.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Parker Harris sold 4,200 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $306.50, for a total value of $1,287,300.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 105,837 shares in the company, valued at $32,439,040.50. The transaction 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 company’s stock in a transaction 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 owns 2,869 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $799,618.99. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Parker Harris sold 4,200 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $306.50, for a total transaction of $1,287,300.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 105,837 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $32,439,040.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 898,507 shares of company stock worth $255,293,063 over the last quarter. Corporate 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.