Baron Wealth Management LLC Boosts Position in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Baron Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 13.4% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,676 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 434 shares during the quarter. Salesforce makes up approximately 0.5% of Baron Wealth Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 26th biggest position. Baron Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $1,006,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Salesforce by 13.6% in the third quarter. Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 58,036 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $15,885,000 after buying an additional 6,938 shares during the last quarter. AIA Group Ltd raised its stake in shares of Salesforce by 8.9% during the third quarter. AIA Group Ltd now owns 24,028 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $6,577,000 after purchasing an additional 1,962 shares during the last quarter. Aljian Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Salesforce by 16.1% during the third quarter. Aljian Capital Management LLC now owns 13,258 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $3,629,000 after purchasing an additional 1,834 shares during the last quarter. Harvest Portfolios Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Salesforce by 13.6% during the third quarter. Harvest Portfolios Group Inc. now owns 89,098 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $24,387,000 after purchasing an additional 10,656 shares during the last quarter. Finally, XN LP raised its stake in shares of Salesforce by 24.2% during the second quarter. XN LP now owns 464,489 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $119,420,000 after purchasing an additional 90,616 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.43% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, COO Brian Millham sold 4,056 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $261.50, for a total transaction of $1,060,644.00. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Maynard G. Webb, Jr. sold 9,170 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $276.32, for a total value of $2,533,854.40. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 1,363 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $376,624.16. This represents a 87.06 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 140,173 shares of company stock worth $40,146,206. 3.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Salesforce Trading Down 0.9 %

Shares of NYSE CRM opened at $322.25 on Tuesday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $288.14 and its 200 day simple moving average is $266.96. The company has a current ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. The company has a market cap of $308.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 56.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 1.29. Salesforce, Inc. has a 12-month low of $212.00 and a 12-month high of $348.86.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 28th. The CRM provider reported $2.56 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.36 by $0.20. Salesforce had a return on equity of 12.01% and a net margin of 15.44%. The company had revenue of $9.33 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.22 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.63 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.55 EPS for the current year.

Salesforce Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 8th. Investors of record on Wednesday, September 18th were issued a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.50%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, September 18th. Salesforce’s payout ratio is 27.83%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CRM has been the subject of several analyst reports. Wedbush upped their price target on Salesforce from $315.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, September 27th. Oppenheimer reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $330.00 price objective (up previously from $300.00) on shares of Salesforce in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Sanford C. Bernstein upped their price objective on Salesforce from $234.00 to $236.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Salesforce from $320.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Finally, Scotiabank initiated coverage on Salesforce in a report on Monday. They set a “sector outperform” rating and a $425.00 price objective on the stock. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-seven have issued a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $325.36.

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.