Tranquility Partners LLC Raises Stake in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Tranquility Partners LLC raised its stake in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 3.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,063 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 89 shares during the quarter. Tranquility Partners LLC’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $1,024,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of CRM. Veritas Asset Management LLP acquired a new position in Salesforce in the third quarter valued at approximately $733,805,000. Jennison Associates LLC raised its stake in shares of Salesforce by 52.7% during the 4th quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 4,433,785 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $1,482,347,000 after buying an additional 1,530,572 shares during the period. Swedbank AB raised its stake in shares of Salesforce by 46.7% during the 4th quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 3,829,773 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $1,280,408,000 after buying an additional 1,219,254 shares during the period. KBC Group NV raised its stake in shares of Salesforce by 171.2% during the 3rd quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,634,834 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $447,470,000 after buying an additional 1,032,068 shares during the period. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Salesforce by 23,664.2% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,002,848 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $274,490,000 after buying an additional 998,628 shares during the period. 80.43% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Salesforce Stock Up 0.6 %

Salesforce stock opened at $326.26 on Thursday. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $312.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 53.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 1.31. Salesforce, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $212.00 and a fifty-two week high of $369.00. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $338.74 and its two-hundred day moving average is $301.96.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, December 3rd. The CRM provider reported $2.41 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.44 by ($0.03). Salesforce had a net margin of 15.96% and a return on equity of 12.34%. The company had revenue of $9.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.35 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.62 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 9th. Investors of record on Wednesday, December 18th were given a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, December 18th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.49%. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 26.32%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Salesforce news, CEO Marc Benioff sold 317,105 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $346.78, for a total transaction of $109,965,671.90. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 12,162,457 shares in the company, valued at $4,217,696,838.46. This represents a 2.54 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 436 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $332.28, for a total value of $144,874.08. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 7,057 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,344,899.96. This represents a 5.82 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 1,111,420 shares of company stock worth $384,366,700. 3.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently commented on CRM. Truist Financial reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $400.00 price target (up from $380.00) on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Bank of America upped their target price on Salesforce from $390.00 to $440.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and issued a $400.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Salesforce from $275.00 to $330.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. Finally, Scotiabank increased their price target on Salesforce from $425.00 to $440.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, thirty-one have assigned a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Salesforce presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $377.63.

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.