Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) Shares Purchased by Los Angeles Capital Management LLC

Los Angeles Capital Management LLC raised its position in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 21.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 677,841 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 120,428 shares during the quarter. Salesforce accounts for about 0.9% of Los Angeles Capital Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 15th largest holding. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC owned approximately 0.07% of Salesforce worth $226,623,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. raised its position in shares of Salesforce by 25.7% in the 3rd quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 259 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $71,000 after purchasing an additional 53 shares in the last quarter. Carret Asset Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Salesforce by 12.4% in the third quarter. Carret Asset Management LLC now owns 3,011 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $824,000 after buying an additional 332 shares during the last quarter. First Financial Bankshares Inc boosted its stake in Salesforce by 0.8% during the 3rd quarter. First Financial Bankshares Inc now owns 55,826 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $15,280,000 after acquiring an additional 442 shares during the last quarter. Cavalier Investments LLC grew its holdings in Salesforce by 6.3% during the 3rd quarter. Cavalier Investments LLC now owns 16,347 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $4,474,000 after acquiring an additional 966 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Smithbridge Asset Management Inc. DE increased its position in shares of Salesforce by 72.7% in the 3rd quarter. Smithbridge Asset Management Inc. DE now owns 20,455 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $5,599,000 after purchasing an additional 8,609 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.43% of the company’s stock.

Salesforce Stock Performance

Salesforce stock opened at $308.27 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $295.01 billion, a PE ratio of 50.70, a PEG ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 1.31. 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, Inc. has a 1 year low of $212.00 and a 1 year high of $369.00. The company’s 50-day moving average is $332.36 and its two-hundred day moving average is $306.60.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 revenue for the quarter was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.62 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.46 earnings per share for the current year.

Salesforce Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 9th. Investors 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 0.52%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, December 18th. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio is currently 26.32%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently commented on CRM. Erste Group Bank raised shares of Salesforce from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on Salesforce from $340.00 to $430.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on Salesforce from $390.00 to $425.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $400.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $300.00 to $420.00 and gave the company an “outperform” 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-two have assigned a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $375.53.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Miguel Milano sold 458 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $307.97, for a total transaction of $141,050.26. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 5,864 shares in the company, valued at $1,805,936.08. This trade represents a 7.24 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 436 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $332.28, for a total transaction of $144,874.08. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 7,057 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,344,899.96. The trade was a 5.82 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 1,102,572 shares of company stock valued at $381,283,706. 3.20% of the stock is owned by company 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.