Plato Investment Management Ltd Has $7.50 Million Holdings in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Plato Investment Management Ltd boosted its stake in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 7.5% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 29,180 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after buying an additional 2,045 shares during the quarter. Salesforce makes up about 0.7% of Plato Investment Management Ltd’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 24th largest position. Plato Investment Management Ltd’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $7,502,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of CRM. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Salesforce in the 4th quarter valued at $2,762,331,000. Capital International Investors lifted its holdings in Salesforce by 76.4% during the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 13,708,615 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $3,607,493,000 after purchasing an additional 5,935,973 shares during the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors boosted its position in Salesforce by 26.9% in the first quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 14,376,536 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $4,329,925,000 after buying an additional 3,044,611 shares in the last quarter. GQG Partners LLC bought a new stake in Salesforce during the first quarter worth about $910,220,000. Finally, Swedbank AB acquired a new stake in shares of Salesforce during the first quarter worth approximately $874,748,000. 80.43% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Salesforce Price Performance

Shares of Salesforce stock opened at $254.57 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. The stock has a market capitalization of $246.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 45.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.26 and a beta of 1.29. Salesforce, Inc. has a twelve month low of $193.68 and a twelve month high of $318.71. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $253.56 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $268.14.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 28th. The CRM provider reported $2.56 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.36 by $0.20. The company had revenue of $9.33 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.22 billion. Salesforce had a net margin of 15.44% and a return on equity of 12.01%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 8.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.63 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.55 EPS for the current year.

Salesforce Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 8th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, September 18th will be issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.63%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, September 18th. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 28.78%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently commented on CRM. Sanford C. Bernstein boosted their target price on Salesforce from $234.00 to $236.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Salesforce from $250.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $345.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a report on Friday, September 6th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $300.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Finally, Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $260.00 to $290.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, August 26th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-seven have assigned a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Salesforce presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $304.41.

Insider Activity

In other Salesforce news, insider Parker Harris sold 2,800 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $241.22, for a total transaction of $675,416.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 117,581 shares in the company, valued at $28,362,888.82. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, insider Parker Harris sold 2,800 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $241.22, for a total value of $675,416.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 117,581 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $28,362,888.82. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Oscar Munoz bought 2,051 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 21st. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $243.69 per share, with a total value of $499,808.19. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 7,026 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,712,165.94. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 62,376 shares of company stock worth $15,878,005. 3.20% of the stock is currently 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.