Perpetual Ltd Buys 990 Shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Perpetual Ltd lifted its position in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 14.3% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 7,925 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 990 shares during the period. Perpetual Ltd’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $2,650,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Aviance Capital Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Salesforce by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. Aviance Capital Partners LLC now owns 6,797 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $1,860,000 after acquiring an additional 33 shares during the period. EWA LLC grew its holdings in Salesforce by 1.7% during the third quarter. EWA LLC now owns 2,001 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $548,000 after purchasing an additional 33 shares during the period. Umpqua Bank increased its position in Salesforce by 0.4% during the third quarter. Umpqua Bank now owns 7,708 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $2,110,000 after buying an additional 34 shares during the last quarter. Principal Street Partners LLC raised its stake in Salesforce by 1.0% in the third quarter. Principal Street Partners LLC now owns 3,297 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $891,000 after buying an additional 34 shares during the period. Finally, Nvwm LLC lifted its position in shares of Salesforce by 1.4% in the third quarter. Nvwm LLC now owns 2,565 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $667,000 after buying an additional 36 shares during the last quarter. 80.43% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Salesforce

In other Salesforce news, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $290.23, for a total transaction of $145,115.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 6,506 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,888,236.38. The trade was a 7.14 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director G Mason Morfit sold 722,300 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $346.11, for a total value of $249,995,253.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 3,192,009 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,104,786,234.99. The trade was a 18.45 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 1,172,167 shares of company stock worth $402,223,235 over the last three months. 3.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Salesforce Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:CRM opened at $326.85 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $312.79 billion, a PE ratio of 53.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 1.30. Salesforce, Inc. has a 52 week low of $212.00 and a 52 week high of $369.00. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $336.97 and its 200-day moving average is $292.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a current ratio of 1.11.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, December 3rd. The CRM provider reported $2.41 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.44 by ($0.03). The company had revenue of $9.44 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.35 billion. Salesforce had a net margin of 15.96% and a return on equity of 12.34%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 8.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.62 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.48 earnings per share for the current year.

Salesforce Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 9th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, December 18th were paid 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 of this dividend was Wednesday, December 18th. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio is currently 26.32%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently weighed in on CRM. DA Davidson increased their price target on Salesforce from $250.00 to $300.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 3rd. Oppenheimer reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $415.00 price objective (up previously from $385.00) on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Piper Sandler reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $405.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Salesforce from $275.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. Finally, Bank of America boosted their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $390.00 to $440.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, thirty-one have given a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $377.63.

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.