Worth Asset Management LLC Makes New Investment in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Worth Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor purchased 8,410 shares of the CRM provider’s stock, valued at approximately $2,812,000. Salesforce accounts for approximately 1.5% of Worth Asset Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 12th largest position.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in Salesforce by 1.8% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 49,007,404 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $13,432,855,000 after acquiring an additional 864,193 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Salesforce by 1.3% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 19,780,318 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $5,395,132,000 after purchasing an additional 257,501 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its position in Salesforce by 2.6% during the third quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 12,276,551 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $3,360,215,000 after buying an additional 314,530 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc increased its holdings in Salesforce by 2.2% during the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 8,329,687 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $2,141,562,000 after buying an additional 176,641 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its position in Salesforce by 1.0% in the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 5,964,702 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $1,632,599,000 after acquiring an additional 57,825 shares during the period. 80.43% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Salesforce Trading Up 0.2 %

Shares of NYSE:CRM traded up $0.52 on Wednesday, hitting $325.45. 1,580,056 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,162,639. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $334.05 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $287.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 1.11. The stock has a market capitalization of $311.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 53.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.21 and a beta of 1.30. Salesforce, Inc. has a 12 month low of $212.00 and a 12 month high of $369.00.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 company had revenue of $9.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.35 billion. Salesforce had a net margin of 15.96% and a return on equity of 12.34%. Salesforce’s quarterly revenue was up 8.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.62 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 9th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, December 18th will be given a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.49%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, December 18th. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 26.32%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Salesforce news, insider Parker Harris sold 4,200 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $289.87, for a total value of $1,217,454.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 118,514 shares in the company, valued at approximately $34,353,653.18. This represents a 3.42 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 413 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $285.29, for a total transaction of $117,824.77. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 7,006 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,998,741.74. This trade represents a 5.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 1,181,817 shares of company stock worth $404,760,429. 3.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. Wedbush restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $425.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $360.00 to $400.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Scotiabank increased their price target on Salesforce from $425.00 to $440.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Guggenheim downgraded Salesforce from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $247.00 price objective on the stock. in a research report on Monday. Finally, BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on Salesforce from $385.00 to $425.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating, thirty have given a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Salesforce currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $376.05.

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.