By otakuyassine3@gmail.com 
Strategic Financial Concepts LLC bought a new stake in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM – Free Report) during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund bought 610 shares of the CRM provider’s stock, valued at approximately $204,000.
A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in CRM. Veritas Asset Management LLP bought a new position in Salesforce in the third quarter valued at $733,805,000. Jennison Associates LLC increased its stake in Salesforce by 52.7% in the fourth quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 4,433,785 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $1,482,347,000 after acquiring an additional 1,530,572 shares during the last quarter. Swedbank AB increased its stake in Salesforce by 46.7% in the fourth quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 3,829,773 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $1,280,408,000 after acquiring an additional 1,219,254 shares during the last quarter. KBC Group NV increased its stake in Salesforce by 171.2% in the third quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,634,834 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $447,470,000 after acquiring an additional 1,032,068 shares during the last quarter. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its stake in Salesforce by 23,664.2% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,002,848 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $274,490,000 after acquiring an additional 998,628 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.43% of the company’s stock.
Insider Activity
In other news, CEO Marc Benioff sold 317,105 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $346.78, for a total transaction of $109,965,671.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 12,162,457 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,217,696,838.46. This trade represents a 2.54 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Amy E. Weaver sold 6,221 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $343.00, for a total transaction of $2,133,803.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 53,861 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $18,474,323. The trade was a 10.35 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 1,102,833 shares of company stock worth $381,389,136. Insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.
Wall Street Analyst Weigh In
CRM has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Macquarie reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $370.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Canaccord Genuity Group raised their price objective on Salesforce from $315.00 to $415.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Scotiabank raised their price objective on Salesforce from $425.00 to $440.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on Salesforce from $340.00 to $430.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reduced their price objective on Salesforce from $425.00 to $375.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, thirty-two have issued a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $375.53.
Check Out Our Latest Analysis on CRM
Salesforce Price Performance
CRM stock opened at $309.54 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $333.34 and a 200-day moving average price of $305.25. Salesforce, Inc. has a 52-week low of $212.00 and a 52-week high of $369.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $296.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 50.91, a PEG ratio of 2.63 and a beta of 1.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a current ratio of 1.11.
Salesforce (NYSE:CRM – Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, December 3rd. The CRM provider reported $2.41 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.44 by ($0.03). Salesforce had a net margin of 15.96% and a return on equity of 12.34%. The business had revenue of $9.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.35 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.62 earnings per share. Salesforce’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.3% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.46 EPS for the current fiscal year.
Salesforce Dividend Announcement
The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 9th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, December 18th were issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, December 18th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.52%. Salesforce’s payout ratio is 26.32%.
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.
See Also
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