Gemmer Asset Management LLC Raises Position in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Gemmer Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 179.4% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 3,978 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after buying an additional 2,554 shares during the period. Gemmer Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $1,330,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in CRM. Nabity Jensen Investment Management Inc acquired a new position in Salesforce during the third quarter worth $1,215,000. Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Salesforce by 13.6% during the 3rd quarter. Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 58,036 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $15,885,000 after buying an additional 6,938 shares during the last quarter. Aljian Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Salesforce by 16.1% in 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 in the last quarter. AIA Group Ltd boosted its position in shares of Salesforce by 8.9% in the 3rd quarter. AIA Group Ltd now owns 24,028 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $6,577,000 after buying an additional 1,962 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake 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 acquiring an additional 257,501 shares during the last quarter. 80.43% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other Salesforce news, CEO Marc Benioff sold 317,105 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $346.78, for a total value of $109,965,671.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 12,162,457 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,217,696,838.46. This represents a 2.54 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, COO Brian Millham sold 6,161 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $289.75, for a total value of $1,785,149.75. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 969 shares in the company, valued at $280,767.75. This trade represents a 86.41 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 1,183,838 shares of company stock worth $405,595,158. 3.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Salesforce Price Performance

Shares of CRM stock opened at $324.77 on Monday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $337.31 and a 200-day simple moving average of $291.80. The company has a market capitalization of $310.81 billion, a PE ratio of 53.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 1.30. Salesforce, Inc. has a twelve month low of $212.00 and a twelve month high of $369.00. The company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, December 3rd. The CRM provider reported $2.41 earnings per share 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 firm had revenue of $9.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.35 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.62 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 8.3% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 9th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, December 18th were given a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.49%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, December 18th. Salesforce’s payout ratio is 26.32%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have issued reports on the stock. Citigroup upped their price target on shares of Salesforce from $368.00 to $390.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Guggenheim lowered Salesforce from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $247.00 target price on the stock. in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Wedbush reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $425.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. Barclays upped their price objective on Salesforce from $415.00 to $425.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on Salesforce from $360.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, thirty-one have issued a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target 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.