Public Sector Pension Investment Board Increases Stock Position in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Public Sector Pension Investment Board boosted its holdings in shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 1.0% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 461,207 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after buying an additional 4,700 shares during the quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $126,237,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Aviance Capital Partners LLC boosted its stake in Salesforce by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. Aviance Capital Partners LLC now owns 6,797 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $1,860,000 after purchasing an additional 33 shares during the last quarter. Umpqua Bank boosted its position in Salesforce by 0.4% during the third quarter. Umpqua Bank now owns 7,708 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $2,110,000 after acquiring an additional 34 shares during the last quarter. Principal Street Partners LLC grew its stake in Salesforce by 1.0% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Street Partners LLC now owns 3,297 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $891,000 after acquiring an additional 34 shares in the last quarter. Nvwm LLC raised its holdings in Salesforce by 1.4% in the 3rd quarter. Nvwm LLC now owns 2,565 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $667,000 after acquiring an additional 36 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Prentice Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in Salesforce by 1.5% in the 3rd quarter. Prentice Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,506 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $686,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.43% of the company’s stock.

Salesforce Trading Down 3.8 %

NYSE:CRM opened at $330.01 on Thursday. Salesforce, Inc. has a 12-month low of $212.00 and a 12-month high of $348.86. The firm has a market cap of $315.49 billion, a PE ratio of 57.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 1.29. The company has a current ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $299.57 and a 200 day moving average price of $269.87.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 business had revenue of $9.33 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.22 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.63 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Announces Dividend

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 0.48%. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio is currently 27.83%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on CRM. FBN Securities upgraded Salesforce to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $300.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. DA Davidson boosted their price target on shares of Salesforce from $230.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. Erste Group Bank upgraded shares of Salesforce from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. Finally, Evercore ISI reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $300.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a report on Monday, August 26th. Eight 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. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Salesforce presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $341.89.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Miguel Milano sold 719 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $342.81, for a total transaction of $246,480.39. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 4,659 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,597,151.79. The trade was a 13.37 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Sabastian Niles sold 2,484 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $244.81, for a total value of $608,108.04. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 828 shares in the company, valued at $202,702.68. This trade represents a 75.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 144,510 shares of company stock worth $42,475,538 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

About Salesforce

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.