ARS Investment Partners LLC Has $21.94 Million Stock Position in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

ARS Investment Partners LLC raised its holdings in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 1.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 65,624 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after buying an additional 1,024 shares during the quarter. Salesforce accounts for 2.0% of ARS Investment Partners LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 19th largest holding. ARS Investment Partners LLC’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $21,940,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. State Street Corp raised its holdings in Salesforce by 1.8% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 49,007,404 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $13,432,855,000 after buying an additional 864,193 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Salesforce by 1.3% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 19,780,318 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $5,395,132,000 after buying an additional 257,501 shares during the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in Salesforce by 2.6% during the third 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 in the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc raised its position in Salesforce by 2.2% in the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 8,329,687 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $2,141,562,000 after buying an additional 176,641 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its stake in Salesforce by 1.0% during the 3rd 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 acquiring an additional 57,825 shares in the last quarter. 80.43% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Salesforce Stock Up 1.5 %

Shares of Salesforce stock opened at $324.77 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $310.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 53.42, a PEG ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 1.11. Salesforce, Inc. has a 1 year low of $212.00 and a 1 year high of $369.00. The company has a 50-day moving average of $337.31 and a 200 day moving average of $292.02.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, December 3rd. The CRM provider reported $2.41 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.44 by ($0.03). Salesforce had a return on equity of 12.34% and a net margin of 15.96%. The company had revenue of $9.44 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.35 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.62 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Announces Dividend

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently commented on the company. Scotiabank increased their price target on Salesforce from $425.00 to $440.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. DA Davidson lifted their target price on Salesforce from $250.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 3rd. Bank of America increased their price target 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. TD Cowen raised shares of Salesforce from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $380.00 to $400.00 in a research report on Friday. Finally, Oppenheimer restated an “outperform” rating and set a $415.00 price target (up previously from $385.00) on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, thirty-one have assigned a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Salesforce has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $377.63.

Insider Transactions at Salesforce

In other news, insider R David Schmaier sold 1,785 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $344.00, for a total transaction of $614,040.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 19,116 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,575,904. The trade was a 8.54 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Amy E. Weaver sold 897 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $285.29, for a total transaction of $255,905.13. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 52,930 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,100,399.70. The trade was a 1.67 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 1,173,477 shares of company stock worth $402,596,964 over the last three months. 3.20% of the stock is currently owned by company 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.