NS Partners Ltd Has $27.84 Million Stake in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

NS Partners Ltd raised its holdings in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 2.5% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 101,716 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,434 shares during the period. Salesforce comprises about 1.2% of NS Partners Ltd’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 28th largest holding. NS Partners Ltd’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $27,841,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CRM. Capital Research Global Investors lifted its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 26.9% in the first quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 14,376,536 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $4,329,925,000 after purchasing an additional 3,044,611 shares in the last quarter. Capital International Investors lifted its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 3.0% in the first quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 14,116,449 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $4,251,592,000 after purchasing an additional 407,834 shares in the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc lifted its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 2.2% in 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 purchasing an additional 176,641 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 48.3% in the second quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 5,906,877 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $1,518,658,000 after purchasing an additional 1,922,674 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 25.1% in the second quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 4,378,826 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $1,125,331,000 after purchasing an additional 877,495 shares in the last quarter. 80.43% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Salesforce Stock Up 0.3 %

Shares of NYSE:CRM opened at $323.29 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $309.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 56.22, a P/E/G ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 1.29. The company has a quick ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. Salesforce, Inc. has a 12-month low of $212.00 and a 12-month high of $348.86. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $289.68 and a 200 day simple moving average of $267.31.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 28th. The CRM provider reported $2.56 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.36 by $0.20. The firm had revenue of $9.33 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.22 billion. Salesforce had a return on equity of 12.01% and a net margin of 15.44%. The business’s revenue was up 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.63 EPS. Analysts predict that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Salesforce Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 8th. Investors of record on Wednesday, September 18th were given a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, September 18th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.49%. Salesforce’s payout ratio is 27.83%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently commented on CRM shares. Citigroup boosted their price target on Salesforce from $260.00 to $290.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, August 26th. Scotiabank began coverage on Salesforce in a report on Monday. They set a “sector outperform” rating and a $425.00 target price on the stock. Canaccord Genuity Group upped their target price on Salesforce from $300.00 to $315.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Salesforce from $320.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Finally, Northland Securities upgraded Salesforce from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $270.00 to $400.00 in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-eight have issued a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Salesforce has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $325.36.

Insider Activity at Salesforce

In other Salesforce news, 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 owns 7,006 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,998,741.74. This trade represents a 5.57 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, COO Brian Millham sold 4,056 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $261.50, for a total transaction of $1,060,644.00. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 140,173 shares of company stock valued at $40,146,206. 3.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Salesforce Company Profile

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.