Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management Acquires 1,008 Shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management boosted its holdings in shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 19.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 6,278 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,008 shares during the period. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $1,652,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the business. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Salesforce by 21.7% during the third quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,839 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $373,000 after purchasing an additional 328 shares during the period. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Salesforce by 4.2% during the 3rd quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 506,270 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $102,660,000 after acquiring an additional 20,625 shares during the last quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC raised its stake in Salesforce by 6.9% during the third quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC now owns 7,065 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $1,427,000 after purchasing an additional 454 shares in the last quarter. CENTRAL TRUST Co grew its stake in shares of Salesforce by 2.6% in the 3rd quarter. CENTRAL TRUST Co now owns 24,715 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $5,012,000 after buying an additional 616 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Emerald Advisers LLC bought a new stake in shares of Salesforce in the 3rd quarter worth about $41,000. Institutional investors own 80.43% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have commented on the stock. Wolfe Research reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $365.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Tuesday, April 16th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $350.00 target price (up previously from $325.00) on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Friday, April 12th. Bank of America upped their price target on shares of Salesforce from $350.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 29th. KeyCorp started coverage on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Thursday, March 21st. They issued a “sector weight” rating on the stock. Finally, Argus increased their price objective on Salesforce from $290.00 to $354.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-four have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Salesforce has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $310.61.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Marc Benioff sold 15,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $275.45, for a total transaction of $4,131,750.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 12,662,327 shares in the company, valued at $3,487,837,972.15. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 2,425 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $273.15, for a total value of $662,388.75. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 5,856 shares in the company, valued at $1,599,566.40. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Marc Benioff sold 15,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $275.45, for a total value of $4,131,750.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 12,662,327 shares in the company, valued at $3,487,837,972.15. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 619,993 shares of company stock valued at $181,048,574. Corporate insiders own 3.70% of the company’s stock.

Salesforce Stock Performance

Shares of CRM stock traded up $1.48 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $278.66. 1,014,743 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,476,062. The stock has a market capitalization of $269.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 66.59, a P/E/G ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a quick ratio of 1.09 and a current ratio of 1.09. Salesforce, Inc. has a 12-month low of $193.68 and a 12-month high of $318.71. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $293.29 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $267.99.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 28th. The CRM provider reported $1.78 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.72 by $0.06. Salesforce had a net margin of 11.87% and a return on equity of 10.42%. The business had revenue of $9.29 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.22 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.01 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts forecast that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.45 EPS for the current year.

Salesforce Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 11th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 14th were given a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 13th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.57%. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio is presently 9.52%.

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.