Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) Shares Purchased by Cerity Partners LLC

Cerity Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 20.4% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 553,626 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after buying an additional 93,802 shares during the quarter. Cerity Partners LLC’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $151,549,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Salesforce by 13.6% in the third quarter. Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 58,036 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $15,885,000 after purchasing an additional 6,938 shares during the last quarter. Aljian Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Salesforce by 16.1% in the 3rd quarter. Aljian Capital Management LLC now owns 13,258 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $3,629,000 after acquiring an additional 1,834 shares during the last quarter. AIA Group Ltd increased its holdings in Salesforce by 8.9% during the 3rd quarter. AIA Group Ltd now owns 24,028 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $6,577,000 after acquiring an additional 1,962 shares in the last quarter. Harvest Portfolios Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 13.6% in the third quarter. Harvest Portfolios Group Inc. now owns 89,098 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $24,387,000 after purchasing an additional 10,656 shares in the last quarter. Finally, XN LP grew its position in shares of Salesforce by 24.2% in the second quarter. XN LP now owns 464,489 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $119,420,000 after purchasing an additional 90,616 shares during the last quarter. 80.43% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Salesforce

In other news, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 413 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $285.29, for a total value of $117,824.77. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 7,006 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,998,741.74. This trade represents a 5.57 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Amy E. Weaver sold 897 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $285.29, for a total transaction of $255,905.13. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 52,930 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,100,399.70. This represents a 1.67 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 147,991 shares of company stock valued at $43,333,238 over the last three months. 3.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the company. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $300.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a report on Thursday, September 19th. Cfra set a $343.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Raymond James lifted their price target on shares of Salesforce from $325.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 29th. JMP Securities raised their target price on shares of Salesforce from $342.00 to $450.00 and gave the stock a “market outperform” rating in a research report on Friday. Finally, Bank of America boosted their price target on Salesforce from $325.00 to $390.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-eight have issued a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $336.37.

Salesforce Price Performance

CRM stock opened at $342.12 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $327.07 billion, a PE ratio of 59.50, a P/E/G ratio of 3.04 and a beta of 1.29. 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’s 50 day moving average is $294.61 and its two-hundred day moving average is $268.66. Salesforce, Inc. has a 52-week low of $212.00 and a 52-week high of $348.86.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last posted its quarterly 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. The firm had revenue of $9.33 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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 prior year, the company posted $1.63 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 8th. Investors of record on Wednesday, September 18th were paid a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, September 18th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.47%. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.