LifePlan Financial LLC Makes New Investment in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

LifePlan Financial LLC bought a new position in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 6,953 shares of the CRM provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,830,000. Salesforce comprises approximately 1.8% of LifePlan Financial LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 13th largest position.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Bear Mountain Capital Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Salesforce during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. BKM Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Salesforce during the fourth quarter worth approximately $34,000. Pacifica Partners Inc. raised its holdings in Salesforce by 333.3% during the fourth quarter. Pacifica Partners Inc. now owns 130 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. AlphaMark Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Salesforce by 892.9% during the fourth quarter. AlphaMark Advisors LLC now owns 139 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 125 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Glass Jacobson Investment Advisors llc bought a new stake in Salesforce during the fourth quarter worth approximately $37,000. Institutional investors own 80.43% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

CRM has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Oppenheimer boosted their target price on Salesforce from $300.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, February 12th. Morgan Stanley raised Salesforce from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $290.00 to $350.00 in a report on Thursday, December 21st. Argus boosted their target price on Salesforce from $290.00 to $354.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, March 6th. Bank of America lifted their price target on shares of Salesforce from $350.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 29th. Finally, Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on shares of Salesforce from $310.00 to $355.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 29th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-four have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Salesforce has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $306.26.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Marc Benioff sold 15,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $315.54, for a total transaction of $4,733,100.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 13,311,166 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,200,205,319.64. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, insider Srinivas Tallapragada sold 10,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $270.28, for a total value of $2,702,800.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 59,861 shares of the company's stock, valued at $16,179,231.08. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Marc Benioff sold 15,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $315.54, for a total transaction of $4,733,100.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 13,311,166 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,200,205,319.64. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 922,375 shares of company stock valued at $266,955,446 in the last quarter. Insiders own 3.70% of the company's stock.

Salesforce Stock Performance

Salesforce stock traded down $21.57 on Monday, reaching $272.75. 18,360,212 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,700,935. The stock has a market cap of $264.57 billion, a PE ratio of 65.38, a PEG ratio of 2.26 and a beta of 1.28. The company has a current ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. Salesforce, Inc. has a twelve month low of $190.57 and a twelve month high of $318.71. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $298.82 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $259.77.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 28th. The CRM provider reported $1.78 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.72 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $9.29 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.22 billion. Salesforce had a net margin of 11.87% and a return on equity of 10.42%. The business's revenue was up 10.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.01 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.45 EPS for the current year.

Salesforce Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 11th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 14th were given a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.59%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 13th. Salesforce's dividend payout ratio is 9.52%.

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.

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