Rheos Capital Works Inc. Purchases New Stake in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Rheos Capital Works Inc. acquired a new position in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 29,000 shares of the CRM provider’s stock, valued at approximately $9,696,000.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CRM. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC raised its stake in Salesforce by 15.0% during the fourth quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC now owns 36,473 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $12,194,000 after acquiring an additional 4,752 shares during the period. Nabity Jensen Investment Management Inc bought a new stake in shares of Salesforce in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $1,215,000. Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC boosted its position in Salesforce by 13.6% during the 3rd quarter. Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 58,036 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $15,885,000 after purchasing an additional 6,938 shares during the period. Aljian Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Salesforce by 16.1% during the 3rd quarter. Aljian Capital Management LLC now owns 13,258 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $3,629,000 after buying an additional 1,834 shares during the last quarter. Finally, AIA Group Ltd lifted its stake in Salesforce by 8.9% in the third quarter. AIA Group Ltd now owns 24,028 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $6,577,000 after buying an additional 1,962 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.43% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Salesforce

In other Salesforce news, CFO Amy E. Weaver sold 6,221 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $329.88, for a total value of $2,052,183.48. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 45,861 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $15,128,626.68. The trade was a 11.94 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Parker Harris sold 3,970 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 119,402 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $35,431,349.48. The trade was a 3.22 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 1,108,669 shares of company stock worth $383,286,905 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $300.00 to $420.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Piper Sandler reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $405.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. Scotiabank raised their target price on Salesforce from $425.00 to $440.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Guggenheim cut Salesforce from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $247.00 price target for the company. in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Finally, KeyCorp upgraded shares of Salesforce from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $440.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Friday, December 13th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, thirty-one have assigned a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $377.63.

Salesforce Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE CRM opened at $341.80 on Monday. 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 one year low of $212.00 and a one year high of $369.00. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $338.67 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $297.99. The company has a market capitalization of $327.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 56.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 1.31.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, December 3rd. The CRM provider reported $2.41 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.35 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.62 earnings per share. Salesforce’s revenue was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 9th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, December 18th were paid 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 0.47%. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.