PAX Financial Group LLC Purchases Shares of 1,499 Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

PAX Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 1,499 shares of the CRM provider’s stock, valued at approximately $501,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Arlington Trust Co LLC boosted its stake in Salesforce by 85.1% in the fourth quarter. Arlington Trust Co LLC now owns 87 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 40 shares in the last quarter. Compass Financial Services Inc acquired a new position in Salesforce during the 4th quarter worth about $30,000. Asset Planning Inc acquired a new stake in Salesforce in the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. Collier Financial bought a new position in shares of Salesforce in the fourth quarter worth about $32,000. Finally, Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Salesforce during the fourth quarter worth approximately $35,000. 80.43% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Salesforce Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE CRM opened at $240.26 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a current ratio of 1.11. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $302.46 and a 200 day moving average price of $311.00. The stock has a market capitalization of $230.89 billion, a PE ratio of 39.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 1.38. Salesforce, Inc. has a 52 week low of $212.00 and a 52 week high of $369.00.

Salesforce Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 24th. Investors of record on Thursday, April 10th will be paid a $0.42 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 10th. This is a boost from Salesforce’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.70%. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 26.10%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Loop Capital dropped their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $330.00 to $300.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Scotiabank cut their price target on Salesforce from $400.00 to $345.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 17th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price objective on Salesforce from $425.00 to $375.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. TD Cowen raised shares of Salesforce from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the company from $380.00 to $400.00 in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Finally, DA Davidson dropped their price target on shares of Salesforce from $300.00 to $275.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating, thirty-one have given a buy rating and five have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $361.42.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Salesforce news, Director Oscar Munoz purchased 3,882 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 3rd. The shares were purchased at an average price of $257.28 per share, with a total value of $998,760.96. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 11,843 shares in the company, valued at $3,046,967.04. This represents a 48.76 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Parker Harris sold 652 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $332.28, for a total value of $216,646.56. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 121,467 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $40,361,054.76. The trade was a 0.53 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 45,660 shares of company stock worth $14,095,336. Insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

About Salesforce

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.