Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) Shares Acquired by Naples Global Advisors LLC

Naples Global Advisors LLC lifted its position in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 8.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 11,513 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after buying an additional 927 shares during the quarter. Naples Global Advisors LLC’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $3,853,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. State Street Corp grew its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 864,193 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Salesforce by 1.3% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 19,780,318 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $5,395,132,000 after buying an additional 257,501 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Salesforce by 2.6% in the third quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 12,276,551 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $3,360,215,000 after acquiring an additional 314,530 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its position in shares of Salesforce by 1.0% during 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. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Salesforce by 1.7% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 5,912,854 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $1,618,407,000 after acquiring an additional 96,381 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.43% of the company’s stock.

Salesforce Stock Up 0.6 %

Shares of NYSE CRM opened at $326.26 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $312.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 53.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 1.31. Salesforce, Inc. has a 52 week low of $212.00 and a 52 week high of $369.00. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $338.74 and a 200 day moving average price of $301.96. The company has a quick ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last posted its quarterly 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 company had revenue of $9.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.35 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.62 earnings per share. Salesforce’s revenue was up 8.3% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed 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 was Wednesday, December 18th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.49%. Salesforce’s payout ratio is 26.32%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently commented on CRM shares. Northland Securities reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $440.00 target price (up from $400.00) on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating and set a $400.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Salesforce from $415.00 to $425.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Salesforce from $275.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. Finally, Guggenheim downgraded shares of 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, January 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, thirty-one have given a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $377.63.

Insider Buying and Selling at Salesforce

In other Salesforce news, CEO Marc Benioff sold 317,105 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 18th. The stock was 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 owns 12,162,457 shares of the company’s stock, 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 filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 436 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $332.28, for a total value of $144,874.08. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 7,057 shares in the company, valued at $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. In the last three months, insiders sold 1,111,420 shares of company stock worth $384,366,700. 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.