Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) Stake Lowered by Veritas Asset Management LLP

Veritas Asset Management LLP reduced its stake in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 9.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,432,713 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after selling 248,244 shares during the period. Salesforce makes up 7.6% of Veritas Asset Management LLP’s portfolio, making the stock its 4th biggest position. Veritas Asset Management LLP owned approximately 0.25% of Salesforce worth $813,329,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Jennison Associates LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 52.7% during the fourth quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 4,433,785 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $1,482,347,000 after purchasing an additional 1,530,572 shares in the last quarter. Swedbank AB lifted its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 46.7% during the fourth quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 3,829,773 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $1,280,408,000 after purchasing an additional 1,219,254 shares in the last quarter. KBC Group NV lifted its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 171.2% during the third quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,634,834 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $447,470,000 after purchasing an additional 1,032,068 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 1.8% during 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. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its holdings in Salesforce by 95.7% in the third quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 1,624,520 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $462,063,000 after acquiring an additional 794,506 shares during the period. 80.43% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

CRM has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Citigroup increased their target price on Salesforce from $368.00 to $390.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Erste Group Bank raised Salesforce from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Salesforce from $340.00 to $380.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. JMP Securities restated a “market outperform” rating and issued a $450.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. Finally, TD Cowen upgraded Salesforce from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $380.00 to $400.00 in a research report on Friday, January 17th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, thirty-two have given a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Salesforce has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $375.53.

Salesforce Stock Performance

Shares of CRM opened at $308.27 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $332.36 and a two-hundred day moving average of $306.60. Salesforce, Inc. has a one year low of $212.00 and a one year high of $369.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a current ratio of 1.11. The stock has a market cap of $295.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 50.70, a P/E/G ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 1.31.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, December 3rd. The CRM provider reported $2.41 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.44 by ($0.03). The company had revenue of $9.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.35 billion. Salesforce had a net margin of 15.96% and a return on equity of 12.34%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.62 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.46 EPS for the current year.

Salesforce Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 9th. Investors of record on Wednesday, December 18th were issued a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, December 18th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.52%. Salesforce’s payout ratio is 26.32%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Salesforce news, insider Miguel Milano sold 458 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $307.97, for a total transaction of $141,050.26. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 5,864 shares in the company, valued at $1,805,936.08. This represents a 7.24 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Parker Harris sold 942 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, December 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $339.78, for a total value of $320,072.76. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 120,333 shares in the company, valued at approximately $40,886,746.74. The trade was a 0.78 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 1,102,572 shares of company stock valued at $381,283,706. 3.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Salesforce 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.