Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) Shares Bought by Apollon Wealth Management LLC

Apollon Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 35.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 18,551 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,889 shares during the quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $4,881,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Bear Mountain Capital Inc. purchased a new stake in Salesforce in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Signature Resources Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Salesforce in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Kathleen S. Wright Associates Inc. acquired a new stake in Salesforce during the 4th quarter worth $31,000. Pacifica Partners Inc. increased its position in shares of Salesforce by 333.3% during 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 in the last quarter. Finally, BKM Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Salesforce during the fourth quarter worth about $34,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.43% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Salesforce news, CEO Marc Benioff sold 15,000 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $288.30, for a total value of $4,324,500.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 13,551,166 shares in the company, valued at $3,906,801,157.80. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other Salesforce news, insider Parker Harris sold 4,200 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $270.93, for a total transaction of $1,137,906.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 115,762 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $31,363,398.66. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Marc Benioff sold 15,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $288.30, for a total transaction of $4,324,500.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 13,551,166 shares in the company, valued at $3,906,801,157.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 619,993 shares of company stock valued at $181,241,324 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 3.70% of the company’s stock.

Salesforce Stock Performance

CRM stock traded up $1.97 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $275.63. The company had a trading volume of 3,722,938 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,550,575. The company has a quick ratio of 1.09, a current ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $293.74 and a 200 day moving average price of $267.47. Salesforce, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $193.68 and a fifty-two week high of $318.71. The firm has a market capitalization of $266.81 billion, a PE ratio of 65.63, a P/E/G ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 1.30.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 28th. The CRM provider reported $1.78 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.72 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $9.29 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.01 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.45 earnings per share for the current year.

Salesforce Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared 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. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 13th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.58%. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 9.52%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently issued reports on CRM. Wedbush boosted their price target on Salesforce from $280.00 to $325.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 29th. TheStreet upgraded Salesforce from a “c+” rating to a “b-” rating in a report on Friday, January 19th. Bank of America increased their price target on Salesforce from $350.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 29th. Argus increased their price target on Salesforce from $290.00 to $354.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $350.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Thursday, March 7th. Nine research 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. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus 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.