New Century Financial Group LLC Makes New $819,000 Investment in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

New Century Financial Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 3,113 shares of the CRM provider's stock, valued at approximately $819,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Great Lakes Advisors LLC increased its position in Salesforce by 7.9% in the fourth quarter. Great Lakes Advisors LLC now owns 37,578 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $9,888,000 after purchasing an additional 2,741 shares during the period. Bey Douglas LLC acquired a new position in Salesforce in the 4th quarter valued at $1,517,000. Private Wealth Management Group LLC acquired a new position in Salesforce in the 4th quarter valued at $80,000. First Heartland Consultants Inc. grew its holdings in Salesforce by 2.7% in the 4th quarter. First Heartland Consultants Inc. now owns 1,547 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $407,000 after buying an additional 41 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Navellier & Associates Inc. lifted its position in shares of Salesforce by 12.1% during the 4th quarter. Navellier & Associates Inc. now owns 4,855 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $1,278,000 after acquiring an additional 525 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.43% of the company's stock.

Salesforce Trading Up 0.3 %

Salesforce stock traded up $0.93 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $285.61. The stock had a trading volume of 3,478,869 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,227,119. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $289.14 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $272.04. Salesforce, Inc. has a twelve month low of $193.68 and a twelve month high of $318.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a current ratio of 1.09 and a quick ratio of 1.09. The firm has a market cap of $276.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 68.00, a PEG ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 1.30.

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

Salesforce Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 11th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 14th were issued a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.56%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 13th. Salesforce's dividend payout ratio is 9.52%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Marc Benioff sold 15,000 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $269.53, for a total transaction of $4,042,950.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 12,707,327 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,425,005,846.31. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other Salesforce news, CEO Marc Benioff sold 15,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $269.53, for a total transaction of $4,042,950.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 12,707,327 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,425,005,846.31. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, COO Brian Millham sold 2,106 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $280.00, for a total value of $589,680.00. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 635,499 shares of company stock worth $184,795,784. Insiders own 3.70% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on CRM shares. Mizuho reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $345.00 target price (up previously from $325.00) on shares of Salesforce in a report on Thursday, February 29th. Bank of America increased their price target on Salesforce from $350.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, February 29th. Piper Sandler reiterated a "neutral" rating and issued a $300.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a report on Monday, April 15th. KeyCorp initiated coverage on Salesforce in a report on Thursday, March 21st. They issued a "sector weight" rating on the stock. Finally, Wolfe Research reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $365.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a report on Tuesday, April 16th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-four have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $310.61.

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.