Primecap Management Co. CA Buys 500 Shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Primecap Management Co. CA boosted its position in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 0.1% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 509,100 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 500 shares during the period. Primecap Management Co. CA’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $139,346,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in CRM. Advisors Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in Salesforce by 25.8% in the 1st quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 16,227 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $4,887,000 after buying an additional 3,327 shares in the last quarter. Gabelli Funds LLC raised its stake in shares of Salesforce by 34.0% during the 1st quarter. Gabelli Funds LLC now owns 2,150 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $648,000 after purchasing an additional 545 shares during the period. Bank of Nova Scotia Trust Co. lifted its holdings in Salesforce by 20.6% during the 1st quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia Trust Co. now owns 24,828 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $7,478,000 after purchasing an additional 4,249 shares in the last quarter. Steel Grove Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in Salesforce in the 1st quarter worth about $387,000. Finally, Kestra Advisory Services LLC grew its holdings in Salesforce by 0.6% during the 1st quarter. Kestra Advisory Services LLC now owns 96,649 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $29,109,000 after buying an additional 571 shares in the last quarter. 80.43% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Salesforce

In other Salesforce news, CFO Amy E. Weaver sold 897 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $285.29, for a total value of $255,905.13. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 52,930 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,100,399.70. This represents a 1.67 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Parker Harris sold 4,200 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $262.90, for a total transaction of $1,104,180.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 117,581 shares in the company, valued at approximately $30,912,044.90. This trade represents a 3.45 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 133,183 shares of company stock worth $38,314,066 over the last 90 days. 3.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CRM has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Salesforce from $310.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday. Oppenheimer reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $385.00 price target (up previously from $330.00) on shares of Salesforce in a report on Thursday. Evercore ISI restated an “outperform” rating and set a $300.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Monday, August 26th. Raymond James raised their price target on Salesforce from $325.00 to $350.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $300.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a report on Thursday, September 19th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-eight have issued a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Salesforce presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $329.11.

Salesforce Stock Up 3.2 %

NYSE CRM opened at $336.19 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $292.86 and its 200 day moving average is $268.20. The stock has a market capitalization of $321.40 billion, a PE ratio of 58.47, a PEG ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 1.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a current ratio of 1.04 and a quick ratio of 1.04. Salesforce, Inc. has a 1 year low of $212.00 and a 1 year high of $348.86.

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

Salesforce Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 8th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, September 18th were paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.48%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, September 18th. Salesforce’s payout ratio is 27.83%.

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.