Schnieders Capital Management LLC Takes Position in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Schnieders Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm purchased 1,235 shares of the CRM provider’s stock, valued at approximately $325,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Northern Trust Corp increased its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 1.1% in 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 acquiring an additional 121,436 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Salesforce by 0.4% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 5,251,891 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $1,064,978,000 after purchasing an additional 19,888 shares in the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company boosted its position in shares of Salesforce by 7.1% in the 3rd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 4,678,330 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $948,676,000 after purchasing an additional 309,881 shares in the last quarter. Cerity Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Salesforce by 1,254.7% in the 4th quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 3,483,670 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $916,693,000 after purchasing an additional 3,226,512 shares in the last quarter. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. boosted its position in shares of Salesforce by 16.1% in the 3rd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 3,198,494 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $648,591,000 after purchasing an additional 444,652 shares in the last quarter. 80.43% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Truist Financial reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $360.00 price objective (up previously from $275.00) on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Thursday, February 29th. TheStreet raised Salesforce from a “c+” rating to a “b-” rating in a research report on Friday, January 19th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Salesforce from $280.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 21st. Oppenheimer lifted their price target on Salesforce from $300.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 12th. Finally, Evercore ISI lifted their price target on Salesforce from $290.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 29th. Nine 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. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $310.61.

Insider Transactions at Salesforce

In other news, CEO Marc Benioff sold 15,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 12,827,327 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,475,435,977.38. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, CFO Amy E. Weaver sold 942 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $305.46, for a total value of $287,743.32. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 39,416 shares in the company, valued at $12,040,011.36. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Marc Benioff sold 15,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 616,589 shares of company stock worth $181,071,306 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 3.70% of the company’s stock.

Salesforce Price Performance

Shares of Salesforce stock traded down $0.49 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $276.19. 3,927,486 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,697,331. The company has a market capitalization of $267.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 66.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 1.28. Salesforce, Inc. has a 1 year low of $190.57 and a 1 year high of $318.71. The business has a fifty day moving average of $296.91 and a two-hundred day moving average of $263.28. The company has a quick ratio of 1.09, a current ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last released its 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 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 business’s revenue was up 10.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.01 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced 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 annualized dividend 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%.

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.