Augustine Asset Management Inc. Purchases 3,406 Shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Augustine Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 88.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 7,246 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after buying an additional 3,406 shares during the period. Salesforce comprises 0.6% of Augustine Asset Management Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 28th largest position. Augustine Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $2,423,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. State Street Corp increased its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 1.8% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 49,007,404 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $13,432,855,000 after acquiring an additional 864,193 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Salesforce by 1.3% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 19,780,318 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $5,395,132,000 after purchasing an additional 257,501 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in Salesforce by 2.6% during the 3rd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 12,276,551 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $3,360,215,000 after buying an additional 314,530 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its stake in Salesforce by 1.0% in the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 5,964,702 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $1,632,599,000 after buying an additional 57,825 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of 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 valued at $1,618,407,000 after buying an additional 96,381 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.43% of the company’s stock.

Salesforce Stock Performance

NYSE:CRM opened at $324.50 on Wednesday. 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 stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $338.89 and a 200 day simple moving average of $301.53. Salesforce, Inc. has a 1-year low of $212.00 and a 1-year high of $369.00. The stock has a market cap of $310.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 53.37, a PEG ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 1.31.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last announced its 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). Salesforce had a net margin of 15.96% and a return on equity of 12.34%. The business had revenue of $9.44 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.35 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.62 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.48 earnings per share for the current year.

Salesforce Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 9th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, December 18th were given a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, December 18th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.49%. Salesforce’s payout ratio is 26.32%.

Insider Activity at Salesforce

In related news, COO Brian Millham sold 14,808 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Amy E. Weaver sold 6,221 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $343.00, for a total transaction of $2,133,803.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 53,861 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $18,474,323. This represents a 10.35 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 1,111,420 shares of company stock worth $384,366,700. Company insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently commented on CRM shares. 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 research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Canaccord Genuity Group boosted their price target on Salesforce from $315.00 to $415.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Salesforce from $340.00 to $380.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Barclays boosted their target price on Salesforce from $415.00 to $425.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Salesforce from $275.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, thirty-one have issued a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price 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.