W.H. Cornerstone Investments Inc. Invests $278,000 in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

W.H. Cornerstone Investments Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 1,056 shares of the CRM provider’s stock, valued at approximately $278,000.

Other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 5.3% in the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 14,921,042 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $3,926,323,000 after buying an additional 752,566 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp lifted its holdings in 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 last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Salesforce by 0.4% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 5,251,891 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $1,064,978,000 after purchasing an additional 19,888 shares in the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company grew its stake 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 during the last quarter. Finally, Cerity Partners LLC raised its holdings 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. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.43% of the company’s stock.

Salesforce Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:CRM traded up $1.53 during trading on Friday, reaching $273.66. The stock had a trading volume of 4,041,636 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,219,539. 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 fifty day simple moving average of $294.23 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $267.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $264.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 65.16, a P/E/G ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 1.30. Salesforce, Inc. has a 52 week low of $190.76 and a 52 week high of $318.71.

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 firm had revenue of $9.29 billion during 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 quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.01 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 11th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 14th were issued a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.58%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 13th. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 9.52%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have issued reports on CRM shares. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on shares of Salesforce from $310.00 to $355.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating 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. Oppenheimer increased their price target on Salesforce from $300.00 to $325.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 12th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $350.00 price objective (up from $325.00) on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Friday, April 12th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $350.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Nine investment 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $310.61.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Srinivas Tallapragada sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $285.20, for a total value of $2,852,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 60,416 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $17,230,643.20. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, CEO Marc Benioff sold 15,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $269.53, for a total transaction of $4,042,950.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 12,707,327 shares in the company, valued at $3,425,005,846.31. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Srinivas Tallapragada sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $285.20, for a total value of $2,852,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 60,416 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $17,230,643.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 629,993 shares of company stock valued at $184,255,474 in the last three months. Company insiders own 3.70% 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.