Zhang Financial LLC Has $2.53 Million Holdings in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Zhang Financial LLC increased its stake in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM - Free Report) by 34.0% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 9,417 shares of the CRM provider's stock after purchasing an additional 2,390 shares during the period. Zhang Financial LLC's holdings in Salesforce were worth $2,527,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Salesforce

In other Salesforce news, CFO Amy E. Weaver sold 6,221 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $277.37, for a total value of $1,725,518.77. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 46,750 shares in the company, valued at $12,967,047.50. This trade represents a 11.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Parker Harris sold 3,273 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $284.58, for a total transaction of $931,430.34. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 125,146 shares in the company, valued at $35,614,048.68. This represents a 2.55% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 40,332 shares of company stock worth $11,024,802 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 3.20% of the company's stock.

Salesforce Price Performance

NYSE:CRM traded up $0.65 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $266.56. The stock had a trading volume of 8,047,893 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,571,158. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $267.35 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $301.22. The stock has a market capitalization of $254.83 billion, a PE ratio of 43.84, a P/E/G ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 1.38. 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 $227.77 and a 12 month high of $369.00.

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

Salesforce Cuts Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 10th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, June 18th will be given a $0.416 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, June 18th. This represents a $1.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.62%. Salesforce's dividend payout ratio is currently 25.98%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently issued reports on CRM. Mizuho cut their target price on shares of Salesforce from $425.00 to $380.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 15th. Stephens cut their target price on shares of Salesforce from $311.00 to $309.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 30th. Robert W. Baird cut their target price on shares of Salesforce from $430.00 to $400.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Redburn Atlantic began coverage on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. They issued a "buy" rating for the company. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on shares of Salesforce from $340.00 to $385.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 29th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating, twenty-seven have given a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $346.34.

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.