Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank Grows Position in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank raised its holdings in shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 49.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 481,024 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 159,334 shares during the quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $126,577,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in CRM. Bear Mountain Capital Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Salesforce during the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. Pacifica Partners Inc. increased its position in shares of Salesforce by 333.3% during the fourth quarter. Pacifica Partners Inc. now owns 130 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the period. BKM Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Salesforce during the fourth quarter valued at about $34,000. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. increased its position in shares of Salesforce by 30.4% during the fourth quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 270 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 63 shares during the period. Finally, Live Oak Investment Partners bought a new stake in shares of Salesforce during the fourth quarter valued at about $36,000. 80.43% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Salesforce

In other news, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 216 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $278.71, for a total transaction of $60,201.36. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 2,869 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $799,618.99. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, CFO Amy E. Weaver sold 7,074 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, January 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $284.00, for a total transaction of $2,009,016.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 38,993 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,074,012. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 216 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $278.71, for a total value of $60,201.36. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 2,869 shares in the company, valued at approximately $799,618.99. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 897,375 shares of company stock valued at $260,206,096 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 3.70% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on CRM shares. KeyCorp started coverage on Salesforce in a research report on Thursday, March 21st. They set a “sector weight” rating on the stock. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $345.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Monday. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Salesforce from $280.00 to $290.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 21st. Citigroup raised their target price on shares of Salesforce from $265.00 to $325.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, February 26th. Finally, Wolfe Research reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $365.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Tuesday. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-four have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $307.87.

Salesforce Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:CRM traded up $4.50 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $277.41. 7,622,511 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,727,201. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $298.52 and its 200-day moving average price is $260.26. The firm has a market cap of $269.08 billion, a PE ratio of 66.40, a PEG ratio of 2.26 and a beta of 1.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a current ratio of 1.09 and a quick ratio of 1.09. Salesforce, Inc. has a 52 week low of $190.57 and a 52 week high of $318.71.

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

Salesforce Announces Dividend

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

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.