Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. Has $2.03 Billion Stock Position in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 2.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 6,066,354 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 153,500 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. owned 0.63% of Salesforce worth $2,028,164,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Arlington Trust Co LLC grew its stake in shares of Salesforce by 85.1% during the fourth quarter. Arlington Trust Co LLC now owns 87 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 40 shares during the period. Compass Financial Services Inc acquired a new stake in shares of Salesforce during the fourth quarter worth $30,000. Asset Planning Inc acquired a new stake in shares of Salesforce during the fourth quarter worth $31,000. Collier Financial acquired a new stake in shares of Salesforce during the fourth quarter worth $32,000. Finally, Infrastructure Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Salesforce during the third quarter worth $27,000. 80.43% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

CRM has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price objective on Salesforce from $375.00 to $367.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Bank of America decreased their target price on Salesforce from $440.00 to $400.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Citigroup reissued a “cautious” rating on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Thursday. Truist Financial reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $400.00 target price (up from $380.00) on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Robert W. Baird decreased their target price on Salesforce from $430.00 to $400.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating, thirty-two have assigned a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $365.32.

Salesforce Stock Performance

CRM opened at $292.60 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a current ratio of 1.11. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $328.10 and its 200 day simple moving average is $308.16. The firm has a market capitalization of $280.02 billion, a PE ratio of 48.13, a PEG ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 1.31. Salesforce, Inc. has a 52-week low of $212.00 and a 52-week high of $369.00.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last released its quarterly earnings data 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). The business had revenue of $9.44 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.35 billion. Salesforce had a net margin of 15.96% and a return on equity of 12.34%. Salesforce’s quarterly revenue was up 8.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.62 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.46 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 9th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, December 18th were paid a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, December 18th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.55%. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio is 25.16%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Salesforce

In other Salesforce news, Director G Mason Morfit sold 722,300 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $346.11, for a total value of $249,995,253.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 3,192,009 shares in the company, valued at $1,104,786,234.99. This represents a 18.45 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Marc Benioff sold 317,105 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $346.78, for a total value of $109,965,671.90. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 12,162,457 shares in the company, valued at $4,217,696,838.46. This represents a 2.54 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 1,102,572 shares of company stock worth $381,283,706 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

Salesforce Company 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.