Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) Stock Position Raised by Sycomore Asset Management

Sycomore Asset Management lifted its position in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 6.4% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 60,030 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after buying an additional 3,604 shares during the quarter. Salesforce accounts for approximately 3.4% of Sycomore Asset Management’s portfolio, making the stock its 5th biggest position. Sycomore Asset Management’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $16,011,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of CRM. Cerity Partners LLC increased its holdings in Salesforce by 1,254.7% during the 4th quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 3,483,670 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $916,693,000 after purchasing an additional 3,226,512 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in Salesforce by 23,653.7% during the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,406,220 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $370,033,000 after purchasing an additional 1,400,300 shares during the period. Lone Pine Capital LLC increased its holdings in Salesforce by 47.5% during the 3rd quarter. Lone Pine Capital LLC now owns 2,499,630 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $506,875,000 after purchasing an additional 804,634 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its holdings in Salesforce by 330.0% during the 3rd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 935,885 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $189,779,000 after purchasing an additional 718,245 shares during the period. Finally, J.P. Morgan Private Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Salesforce during the 3rd quarter worth about $114,521,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.43% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Salesforce

In related news, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 2,425 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $273.15, for a total value of $662,388.75. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 5,856 shares in the company, valued at $1,599,566.40. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 2,425 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $273.15, for a total value of $662,388.75. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 5,856 shares in the company, valued at $1,599,566.40. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, COO Brian Millham sold 24,453 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $302.08, for a total value of $7,386,762.24. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 616,589 shares of company stock valued at $181,071,306 over the last three months. 3.70% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Salesforce Price Performance

CRM stock traded down $0.49 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $276.19. 3,934,969 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,697,396. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $296.65 and its 200-day moving average price is $263.37. The stock has a market cap of $267.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 65.76, a PEG ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 1.28. Salesforce, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $190.57 and a fifty-two week high of $318.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a quick ratio of 1.09 and a current ratio of 1.09.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 28th. The CRM provider reported $1.78 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.72 by $0.06. Salesforce had a return on equity of 10.42% and a net margin of 11.87%. The company had revenue of $9.29 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.22 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.01 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.45 earnings per share for the current year.

Salesforce Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 11th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 14th were issued a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 13th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.58%. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 9.52%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on CRM shares. Citigroup upped their price target on Salesforce from $265.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, February 26th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $350.00 target price (up previously from $325.00) on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Friday, April 12th. Piper Sandler reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $300.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Monday, April 15th. Argus raised their target price on Salesforce from $290.00 to $354.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 6th. Finally, Wedbush raised their target price on Salesforce from $280.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 29th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-four have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $310.61.

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.