Prosperity Consulting Group LLC Takes Position in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Prosperity Consulting Group LLC acquired a new stake in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 1,999 shares of the CRM provider’s stock, valued at approximately $602,000.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Capital World Investors grew its stake in shares of Salesforce by 2.4% in the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 19,561,325 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $5,147,402,000 after purchasing an additional 457,463 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its position in Salesforce by 5.3% during the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 14,921,042 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $3,926,323,000 after acquiring an additional 752,566 shares during the last quarter. Capital International Investors grew its position in Salesforce by 76.4% during the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 13,708,615 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $3,607,493,000 after acquiring an additional 5,935,973 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Salesforce during the 4th quarter worth approximately $2,762,331,000. Finally, Parnassus Investments LLC grew its position in Salesforce by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC now owns 5,951,415 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $1,566,055,000 after acquiring an additional 18,397 shares during the last quarter. 80.43% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Salesforce Stock Performance

Salesforce stock traded up $2.24 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $263.19. 6,562,111 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 8,121,139. Salesforce, Inc. has a 52 week low of $193.68 and a 52 week high of $318.71. 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 cap of $255.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 47.34, a P/E/G ratio of 2.29 and a beta of 1.29. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $258.26 and its 200 day simple moving average is $276.21.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 29th. The CRM provider reported $2.44 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.38 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $9.13 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.15 billion. Salesforce had a return on equity of 11.57% and a net margin of 15.30%. Salesforce’s quarterly revenue was up 10.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.15 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 25th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, July 9th will be given a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, July 9th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.61%. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 28.78%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Salesforce news, insider Srinivas Tallapragada sold 942 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $242.32, for a total transaction of $228,265.44. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 22,154 shares in the company, valued at $5,368,357.28. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, CEO Marc Benioff sold 15,000 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $302.03, for a total value of $4,530,450.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 12,936,166 shares in the company, valued at $3,907,110,216.98. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Srinivas Tallapragada sold 942 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $242.32, for a total transaction of $228,265.44. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 22,154 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,368,357.28. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 484,152 shares of company stock worth $131,779,561 over the last three months. Insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently commented on CRM. Macquarie decreased their price target on Salesforce from $330.00 to $275.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 31st. Canaccord Genuity Group decreased their price target on Salesforce from $350.00 to $300.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 30th. Sanford C. Bernstein increased their price objective on Salesforce from $231.00 to $234.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 30th. UBS Group decreased their price objective on Salesforce from $310.00 to $250.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 30th. Finally, KeyCorp started coverage on Salesforce in a research report on Thursday, March 21st. They issued a “sector weight” rating on the stock. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating, twenty-five have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $292.79.

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.