Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) Stock Holdings Increased by Cidel Asset Management Inc.

Cidel Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 1.0% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 58,618 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 562 shares during the quarter. Salesforce makes up 1.3% of Cidel Asset Management Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 25th largest holding. Cidel Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $19,598,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of CRM. State Street Corp grew its position in Salesforce by 1.8% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 49,007,404 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $13,432,855,000 after buying an additional 864,193 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 1.3% in the third 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 in the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its stake in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 314,530 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its holdings in 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 purchasing an additional 57,825 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in Salesforce by 1.7% in 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 purchasing an additional 96,381 shares during the period. 80.43% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Salesforce

In related news, COO Brian Millham sold 14,808 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $338.95, for a total transaction of $5,019,171.60. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Amy E. Weaver sold 6,221 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $335.94, for a total transaction of $2,089,882.74. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 46,750 shares in the company, valued at $15,705,195. This represents a 11.74 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 1,111,420 shares of company stock worth $384,366,700 over the last three months. 3.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CRM has been the topic of a number of research reports. Barclays boosted their price objective on Salesforce from $415.00 to $425.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Canaccord Genuity Group boosted their price target on shares of Salesforce from $315.00 to $415.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $368.00 to $390.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Bank of America boosted their target price on shares of Salesforce from $390.00 to $440.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Loop Capital lifted their price target on shares of Salesforce from $340.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, thirty-one have issued a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $377.63.

Salesforce Price Performance

Shares of Salesforce stock opened at $325.81 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $339.05 and a 200-day simple moving average of $299.87. The stock has a market capitalization of $311.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 53.59, a PEG ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 1.31. Salesforce, Inc. has a 1-year low of $212.00 and a 1-year high of $369.00.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last released 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). The firm had revenue of $9.44 billion for 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 firm’s revenue was up 8.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.62 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.48 earnings per share for the current year.

Salesforce Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.49%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, December 18th. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio is currently 26.32%.

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.