Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA Purchases New Position in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA acquired a new stake in shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 313,960 shares of the CRM provider’s stock, valued at approximately $104,173,000. Salesforce comprises 2.1% of Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 12th biggest holding.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in CRM. State Street Corp boosted its position in shares of Salesforce by 1.8% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 49,007,404 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $13,432,855,000 after buying an additional 864,193 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Salesforce by 1.3% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 19,780,318 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $5,395,132,000 after acquiring an additional 257,501 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its position in Salesforce by 2.6% in the 3rd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 12,276,551 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $3,360,215,000 after acquiring an additional 314,530 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its stake in Salesforce by 1.0% in the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 5,964,702 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $1,632,599,000 after purchasing an additional 57,825 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Salesforce by 1.7% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 5,912,854 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $1,618,407,000 after purchasing an additional 96,381 shares during the period. 80.43% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Salesforce news, CFO Amy E. Weaver sold 897 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $332.28, for a total value of $298,055.16. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 46,750 shares in the company, valued at $15,534,090. This represents a 1.88 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Parker Harris sold 4,200 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $298.04, for a total value of $1,251,768.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 119,402 shares in the company, valued at approximately $35,586,572.08. This represents a 3.40 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 1,173,891 shares of company stock worth $402,840,388. 3.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently commented on CRM. Needham & Company LLC lifted their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $375.00 to $400.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Truist Financial restated a “buy” rating and set a $400.00 price objective (up from $380.00) on shares of Salesforce in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Guggenheim lowered Salesforce from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $247.00 price target on the stock. in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Erste Group Bank upgraded shares of Salesforce from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on shares of Salesforce from $360.00 to $400.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, thirty-one have assigned a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $377.63.

Salesforce Stock Performance

CRM opened at $333.47 on Monday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $336.73 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $294.31. Salesforce, Inc. has a 52-week low of $212.00 and a 52-week high of $369.00. The company has a market cap of $319.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 54.85, a PEG ratio of 3.01 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a quick ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last posted 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). Salesforce had a return on equity of 12.34% and a net margin of 15.96%. 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 previous year, the firm posted $1.62 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 8.3% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts anticipate that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 9th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, December 18th were issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.48%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, December 18th. Salesforce’s payout ratio is 26.32%.

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.