Transamerica Financial Advisors Inc. Makes New Investment in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Transamerica Financial Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund acquired 13,414 shares of the CRM provider’s stock, valued at approximately $3,672,000.

A number of other large investors have also bought and sold shares of CRM. Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Salesforce by 13.6% during the third quarter. Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 58,036 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $15,885,000 after acquiring an additional 6,938 shares in the last quarter. Aljian Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Salesforce by 16.1% during the 3rd 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 in the last quarter. AIA Group Ltd raised its stake in shares of Salesforce by 8.9% in the 3rd quarter. AIA Group Ltd now owns 24,028 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $6,577,000 after purchasing an additional 1,962 shares during the period. Harvest Portfolios Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 13.6% in the third quarter. Harvest Portfolios Group Inc. now owns 89,098 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $24,387,000 after purchasing an additional 10,656 shares in the last quarter. Finally, XN LP boosted its position 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 buying an additional 90,616 shares during the period. 80.43% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Salesforce Price Performance

Shares of NYSE CRM traded up $1.25 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $340.36. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 676,947 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,279,774. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a current ratio of 1.04. The company has a market cap of $325.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 58.98, a P/E/G ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 1.29. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $296.26 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $268.98. Salesforce, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $212.00 and a fifty-two week high of $348.86.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 28th. The CRM provider reported $2.56 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.36 by $0.20. The firm had revenue of $9.33 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.22 billion. Salesforce had a return on equity of 12.01% and a net margin of 15.44%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.63 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 8th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, September 18th were paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, September 18th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.47%. Salesforce’s payout ratio is 27.83%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Salesforce

In related news, insider Sabastian Niles sold 2,484 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $244.81, for a total transaction of $608,108.04. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 828 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $202,702.68. The trade was a 75.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Miguel Milano sold 719 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $342.81, for a total value of $246,480.39. Following the sale, the insider now owns 4,659 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,597,151.79. This trade represents a 13.37 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 144,510 shares of company stock valued at $42,475,538 in the last ninety days. 3.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have commented on CRM. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $300.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $320.00 to $330.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, August 29th. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Salesforce from $275.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday. Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their price target on shares of Salesforce from $234.00 to $236.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. Finally, Wedbush increased their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $325.00 to $375.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-eight have given a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Salesforce currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $339.66.

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.