Horizon Investments LLC Purchases 2,113 Shares of Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Key Points

• Horizon Investments LLC has increased its ownership of Salesforce Inc. by 7.3%, valuing its stake at $8.29 million after acquiring an additional 2,113 shares in the first quarter.
• Salesforce's stock has received mixed ratings from analysts, with target prices ranging from $255 to $430, reflecting differing opinions on the company's performance potential.
• Salesforce recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.416 per share, representing an annualized yield of 0.7%, though this reflects changes in their payout strategy.

Horizon Investments LLC raised its position in Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM - Free Report) by 7.3% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 30,939 shares of the CRM provider's stock after purchasing an additional 2,113 shares during the period. Horizon Investments LLC's holdings in Salesforce were worth $8,290,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. acquired a new position in shares of Salesforce in the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Accredited Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Salesforce during the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Wood Tarver Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Salesforce during the 4th quarter valued at about $35,000. Capital A Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 450.0% during the 1st quarter. Capital A Wealth Management LLC now owns 110 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 90 shares during the period. Finally, CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC raised its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 314.8% during the 1st quarter. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 112 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 85 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.43% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently commented on CRM shares. JMP Securities reiterated a "market outperform" rating and set a $430.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a report on Friday, July 11th. DA Davidson upgraded Salesforce from an "underperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $225.00 target price on the stock in a report on Friday. Canaccord Genuity Group dropped their target price on Salesforce from $400.00 to $350.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, May 28th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their target price on Salesforce from $375.00 to $325.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Guggenheim upgraded Salesforce from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, April 21st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating, twenty-seven have given a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Salesforce presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $347.50.

Salesforce Stock Performance

CRM stock traded up $9.41 during trading on Friday, reaching $242.78. 12,936,592 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,984,759. The company has a quick ratio of 1.07, a current ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. Salesforce Inc. has a 1-year low of $226.48 and a 1-year high of $369.00. The company's fifty day moving average price is $260.41 and its 200-day moving average price is $275.84. The firm has a market cap of $232.10 billion, a PE ratio of 37.99, a P/E/G ratio of 2.12 and a beta of 1.37.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 28th. The CRM provider reported $2.58 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.55 by $0.03. Salesforce had a return on equity of 12.94% and a net margin of 16.08%. The company had revenue of $9.83 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.74 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.44 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 7.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts expect that Salesforce Inc. will post 7.46 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 10th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, June 18th were paid a $0.416 dividend. This represents a $1.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, June 18th. Salesforce's payout ratio is currently 25.98%.

Insider Activity at Salesforce

In other news, CEO Marc Benioff sold 2,250 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $234.64, for a total transaction of $527,940.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 11,911,571 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,794,931,019.44. The trade was a 0.02% 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. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 46,532 shares of company stock valued at $12,082,694. 3.00% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Salesforce Company 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.