Chicago Capital LLC Buys 4,482 Shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Chicago Capital LLC lifted its position in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 1.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 256,477 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,482 shares during the period. Salesforce comprises approximately 2.3% of Chicago Capital LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 12th biggest holding. Chicago Capital LLC’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $85,748,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in CRM. Czech National Bank increased its position in shares of Salesforce by 6.7% in the third quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 197,395 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $54,029,000 after acquiring an additional 12,314 shares during the period. RBA Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in Salesforce by 3.7% during the 3rd quarter. RBA Wealth Management LLC now owns 16,172 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $4,426,000 after purchasing an additional 574 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in Salesforce by 46.8% during the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 10,328 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $2,827,000 after purchasing an additional 3,292 shares during the last quarter. Herbst Group LLC lifted its holdings in Salesforce by 5.2% in the 3rd quarter. Herbst Group LLC now owns 10,110 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $2,767,000 after buying an additional 500 shares during the period. Finally, WealthBridge Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Salesforce in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $219,000. 80.43% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Salesforce Stock Down 0.5 %

Salesforce stock opened at $341.80 on Monday. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $338.67 and a 200 day moving average of $297.66. 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 $327.10 billion, a PE ratio of 56.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 1.31.

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

Salesforce Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 9th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, December 18th were issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. 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 0.47%. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio is presently 26.32%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently commented on CRM shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Salesforce from $340.00 to $380.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Salesforce from $275.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on shares of Salesforce from $300.00 to $420.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Canaccord Genuity Group lifted their price objective on Salesforce from $315.00 to $415.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, KeyCorp raised Salesforce from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $440.00 target price for the company in a research report on Friday, December 13th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, thirty-one have assigned a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Salesforce presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $377.63.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Amy E. Weaver sold 6,221 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $343.00, for a total value of $2,133,803.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 53,861 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,474,323. This trade represents a 10.35 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, COO Brian Millham sold 708 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $332.28, for a total value of $235,254.24. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 1,239 shares in the company, valued at approximately $411,694.92. This trade represents a 36.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 1,108,669 shares of company stock worth $383,286,905. 3.20% of the stock is owned by corporate 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.