Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) Position Increased by Quent Capital LLC

Quent Capital LLC raised its position in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 2.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 3,088 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 68 shares during the quarter. Quent Capital LLC’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $1,032,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in CRM. Veritas Asset Management LLP acquired a new position in Salesforce in the third quarter worth approximately $733,805,000. Jennison Associates LLC grew its position in Salesforce by 52.7% in the fourth quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 4,433,785 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $1,482,347,000 after acquiring an additional 1,530,572 shares in the last quarter. Swedbank AB grew its position in Salesforce by 46.7% in the fourth quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 3,829,773 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $1,280,408,000 after acquiring an additional 1,219,254 shares in the last quarter. KBC Group NV raised its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 171.2% during the 3rd quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,634,834 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $447,470,000 after purchasing an additional 1,032,068 shares in the last quarter. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Salesforce by 23,664.2% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,002,848 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $274,490,000 after purchasing an additional 998,628 shares during the last quarter. 80.43% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Salesforce Price Performance

Shares of CRM stock opened at $324.50 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 1.11. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $338.89 and its 200 day simple moving average is $301.53. Salesforce, Inc. has a one year low of $212.00 and a one year high of $369.00. The firm has a market cap of $310.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 53.37, a P/E/G ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 1.31.

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

Salesforce Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 9th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, December 18th were paid a $0.40 dividend. 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 dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 26.32%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have commented on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Salesforce from $340.00 to $380.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Erste Group Bank raised Salesforce from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Barclays boosted their target price on Salesforce from $415.00 to $425.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on Salesforce from $400.00 to $425.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group boosted their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $315.00 to $415.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, thirty-one have given a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $377.63.

Insider Transactions at Salesforce

In other news, CFO Amy E. Weaver sold 6,221 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $329.88, for a total transaction of $2,052,183.48. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 45,861 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,128,626.68. This represents a 11.94 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, COO Brian Millham sold 14,808 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $338.95, for a total value of $5,019,171.60. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 1,111,420 shares of company stock valued at $384,366,700 in the last three months. 3.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.