Monarch Capital Management Inc. Makes New Investment in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Monarch Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund acquired 650 shares of the CRM provider’s stock, valued at approximately $218,000.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Nabity Jensen Investment Management Inc purchased a new stake in Salesforce during the 3rd quarter worth $1,215,000. Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Salesforce by 13.6% during the third quarter. Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 58,036 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $15,885,000 after acquiring an additional 6,938 shares in the last quarter. Aljian Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Salesforce by 16.1% during the third quarter. Aljian Capital Management LLC now owns 13,258 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $3,629,000 after acquiring an additional 1,834 shares during the last quarter. AIA Group Ltd lifted its stake in shares of Salesforce by 8.9% in the third quarter. AIA Group Ltd now owns 24,028 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $6,577,000 after acquiring an additional 1,962 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Salesforce by 1.3% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 19,780,318 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $5,395,132,000 after purchasing an additional 257,501 shares during the last quarter. 80.43% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Salesforce Price Performance

NYSE CRM opened at $324.77 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $310.81 billion, a PE ratio of 53.42, a P/E/G ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 1.11. Salesforce, Inc. has a 12 month low of $212.00 and a 12 month high of $369.00. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $337.31 and its 200 day simple moving average is $291.56.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, December 3rd. The CRM provider reported $2.41 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.44 by ($0.03). Salesforce had a return on equity of 12.34% and a net margin of 15.96%. The firm had revenue of $9.44 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.35 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.62 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 8.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 9th. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 0.49%. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 26.32%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on CRM shares. Macquarie restated a “neutral” rating and set a $370.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on shares of Salesforce from $390.00 to $425.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $330.00 to $405.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Truist Financial reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $400.00 target price (up previously from $380.00) on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Bank of America increased their price target on shares of Salesforce from $390.00 to $440.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, thirty-one have issued a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $377.63.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CFO Amy E. Weaver sold 6,221 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $329.88, for a total transaction of $2,052,183.48. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 45,861 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $15,128,626.68. The trade was a 11.94 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider R David Schmaier sold 1,785 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $344.00, for a total value of $614,040.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 19,116 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,575,904. This trade represents a 8.54 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 1,183,838 shares of company stock worth $405,595,158 in the last ninety days. 3.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.