Pacer Advisors Inc. Acquires 11,435 Shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its stake in shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 13.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 98,712 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 11,435 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $33,002,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of CRM. Infrastructure Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Salesforce in the third quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL acquired a new position in shares of Salesforce in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $33,000. Godsey & Gibb Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Salesforce by 300.0% in the 3rd quarter. Godsey & Gibb Inc. now owns 120 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 90 shares during the last quarter. Annapolis Financial Services LLC increased its position in shares of Salesforce by 135.6% during the third quarter. Annapolis Financial Services LLC now owns 139 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $38,000 after buying an additional 80 shares during the period. Finally, FSA Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Salesforce during the third quarter worth $53,000. 80.43% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently commented on CRM shares. Needham & Company LLC upped their target price on Salesforce from $375.00 to $400.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Bank of America increased their price target on Salesforce from $390.00 to $440.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Scotiabank lifted their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $425.00 to $440.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Salesforce from $415.00 to $425.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Guggenheim downgraded shares of Salesforce from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $247.00 price target for the company. in a research note on Monday, January 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, thirty-one have issued a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Salesforce presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $377.63.

Salesforce Price Performance

Shares of CRM stock opened at $347.26 on Tuesday. The business’s fifty day moving average is $336.73 and its 200 day moving average is $294.60. The company has a quick ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. The stock has a market cap of $332.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 57.12, a PEG ratio of 3.01 and a beta of 1.30. Salesforce, Inc. has a twelve month low of $212.00 and a twelve month high of $369.00.

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

Salesforce Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 9th. Investors of record on Wednesday, December 18th were given a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.46%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, December 18th. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 26.32%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Salesforce

In other news, CFO Amy E. Weaver sold 897 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $332.28, for a total value of $298,055.16. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 46,750 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,534,090. This represents a 1.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $290.23, for a total transaction of $145,115.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 6,506 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,888,236.38. The trade was a 7.14 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 1,109,169 shares of company stock worth $383,432,020. 3.20% of the stock is owned by 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.