Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) Stake Boosted by Caprock Group LLC

Caprock Group LLC increased its position in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 12.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 37,346 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after buying an additional 4,204 shares during the period. Caprock Group LLC’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $12,501,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Veritas Asset Management LLP bought a new position in Salesforce in the third quarter worth $733,805,000. Swedbank AB lifted its position in Salesforce by 46.7% in the fourth quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 3,829,773 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $1,280,408,000 after purchasing an additional 1,219,254 shares during the period. KBC Group NV lifted its position in Salesforce by 171.2% in the third quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,634,834 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $447,470,000 after purchasing an additional 1,032,068 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its position 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 worth $274,490,000 after purchasing an additional 998,628 shares during the period. Finally, State Street Corp lifted its position in Salesforce by 1.8% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 49,007,404 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $13,432,855,000 after purchasing an additional 864,193 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.43% of the company’s stock.

Salesforce Stock Performance

CRM opened at $345.03 on Friday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $338.68 and a 200 day simple moving average of $296.75. The company has a market capitalization of $330.19 billion, a PE ratio of 56.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.20 and a beta of 1.30. Salesforce, Inc. has a 1 year low of $212.00 and a 1 year high of $369.00. 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 (NYSE:CRM) last released its quarterly 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). The firm had revenue of $9.44 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.35 billion. Salesforce had a net margin of 15.96% and a return on equity of 12.34%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.62 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.48 EPS for the current year.

Salesforce Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 9th. Investors of record on Wednesday, December 18th were paid a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, December 18th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.46%. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 26.32%.

Insider Activity at Salesforce

In related news, insider Parker Harris sold 3,970 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $296.74, for a total transaction of $1,178,057.80. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 119,402 shares in the company, valued at $35,431,349.48. This represents a 3.22 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 436 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $332.28, for a total value of $144,874.08. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 7,057 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,344,899.96. This represents a 5.82 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 1,108,669 shares of company stock worth $383,286,905 in the last ninety days. 3.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently commented on CRM. Barclays raised their target price on Salesforce from $415.00 to $425.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Citigroup increased their price objective on Salesforce from $368.00 to $390.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. DA Davidson increased their price objective on Salesforce from $250.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 3rd. Northland Securities reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $440.00 price objective (up from $400.00) on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC increased their price objective on Salesforce from $375.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, thirty-one have issued a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $377.63.

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.