Alpha Wealth Funds LLC Acquires Shares of 2,600 Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Alpha Wealth Funds LLC bought a new position in shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 2,600 shares of the CRM provider's stock, valued at approximately $869,000. Salesforce makes up approximately 0.8% of Alpha Wealth Funds LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 21st largest holding.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CRM. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Salesforce by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 19,955,353 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $6,656,078,000 after purchasing an additional 175,035 shares during the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 12,453,872 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $4,163,703,000 after buying an additional 177,321 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp lifted its position in shares of Salesforce by 18.3% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 11,224,927 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $3,752,830,000 after acquiring an additional 1,736,667 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Salesforce during the 4th quarter worth $3,599,867,000. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 23.2% in the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 8,938,536 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $2,988,422,000 after acquiring an additional 1,683,233 shares during the last quarter. 80.43% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Salesforce Price Performance

NYSE CRM traded down $1.89 on Friday, reaching $265.03. The company's stock had a trading volume of 12,357,247 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,029,709. Salesforce, Inc. has a 52 week low of $212.00 and a 52 week high of $369.00. The company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. The firm has a market cap of $254.80 billion, a PE ratio of 43.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 1.42. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $267.78 and a 200 day moving average price of $305.28.

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

Salesforce Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 24th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 10th were paid a $0.42 dividend. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.63%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 10th. This is an increase from Salesforce's previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. Salesforce's payout ratio is currently 25.98%.

Insider Transactions at Salesforce

In other Salesforce news, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 500 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction on Friday, May 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $275.00, for a total value of $137,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 11,711 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,220,525. The trade was a 4.09% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Miguel Milano sold 705 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, May 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $279.44, for a total value of $197,005.20. Following the sale, the insider now owns 9,323 shares in the company, valued at $2,605,219.12. The trade was a 7.03% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 46,553 shares of company stock valued at $12,897,323. 3.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have weighed in on CRM. Citigroup lowered their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $320.00 to $295.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price target on Salesforce from $425.00 to $375.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Needham & Company LLC reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $400.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Wednesday. UBS Group decreased their price objective on Salesforce from $320.00 to $300.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Guggenheim upgraded Salesforce from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, April 21st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, twenty-nine have issued a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $342.21.

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.