Brucke Financial Inc. Makes New $1.45 Million Investment in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Brucke Financial Inc. bought a new position in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund bought 4,242 shares of the CRM provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,449,000. Salesforce accounts for about 1.3% of Brucke Financial Inc.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 20th largest position.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in CRM. Azzad Asset Management Inc. ADV lifted its stake in shares of Salesforce by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Azzad Asset Management Inc. ADV now owns 17,904 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $5,986,000 after buying an additional 104 shares in the last quarter. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. purchased a new stake in shares of Salesforce in the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. HWG Holdings LP acquired a new position in Salesforce during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,894,000. Yoffe Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Salesforce in the fourth quarter worth $313,000. Finally, LifeWealth Investments LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Salesforce in the fourth quarter worth $307,000. Institutional investors own 80.43% of the company's stock.

Salesforce Trading Down 5.2%

Salesforce stock traded down $14.27 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $261.76. The stock had a trading volume of 18,755,564 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,998,334. The firm has a market cap of $251.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 1.42. The company has a fifty day moving average of $268.16 and a 200 day moving average of $305.79. Salesforce, Inc. has a 52-week low of $212.00 and a 52-week high of $369.00. The company has a quick ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, May 28th. The CRM provider reported $2.58 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.55 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $9.83 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.74 billion. Salesforce had a net margin of 15.96% and a return on equity of 12.34%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 7.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.44 earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.46 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 24th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 10th were paid a dividend of $0.42 per share. This is an increase from Salesforce's previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.64%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 10th. Salesforce's payout ratio is presently 26.10%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CRM has been the subject of a number of research reports. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $425.00 to $375.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Monday, March 31st. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $310.00 to $255.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Morgan Stanley restated an "overweight" rating and issued a $404.00 price objective (up previously from $393.00) on shares of Salesforce in a report on Thursday. Scotiabank decreased their price target on shares of Salesforce from $400.00 to $345.00 and set a "sector outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, March 17th. Finally, Oppenheimer reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $370.00 price target (down previously from $380.00) on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Thursday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, thirty have issued a buy rating and five have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $342.38.

Insider Transactions at Salesforce

In related news, Director Robin L. Washington acquired 1,695 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 28th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $294.61 per share, for a total transaction of $499,363.95. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 43,445 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $12,799,331.45. This trade represents a 4.06% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider R David Schmaier sold 6,959 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $253.31, for a total transaction of $1,762,784.29. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 36,090 shares of the company's stock, valued at $9,141,957.90. This trade represents a 16.17% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 46,553 shares of company stock worth $12,897,323. Company insiders own 3.20% of the company's stock.

Salesforce 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.