SageView Advisory Group LLC Grows Stake in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

SageView Advisory Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 110.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 9,512 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,990 shares during the quarter. SageView Advisory Group LLC’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $2,737,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Salesforce during the 4th quarter valued at $2,762,331,000. Cerity Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Salesforce by 1,254.7% in the fourth quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 3,483,670 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $916,693,000 after purchasing an additional 3,226,512 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its position in shares of Salesforce by 23,653.7% in the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,406,220 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $370,033,000 after purchasing an additional 1,400,300 shares in the last quarter. Lone Pine Capital LLC grew its position in Salesforce by 47.5% in the third quarter. Lone Pine Capital LLC now owns 2,499,630 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $506,875,000 after acquiring an additional 804,634 shares during the period. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in Salesforce by 5.3% during the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 14,921,042 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $3,926,323,000 after purchasing an additional 752,566 shares in the last quarter. 80.43% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CRM has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Mizuho reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $345.00 price target (up from $325.00) on shares of Salesforce in a report on Thursday, February 29th. Stifel Nicolaus reissued a “buy” rating and set a $350.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Argus raised their price target on Salesforce from $290.00 to $354.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 6th. Wolfe Research reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $365.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $345.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Monday, April 15th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-four have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Salesforce has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $310.94.

Salesforce Price Performance

Shares of NYSE CRM traded down $7.51 during trading on Friday, reaching $271.06. The company had a trading volume of 5,129,544 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,309,644. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a quick ratio of 1.09 and a current ratio of 1.09. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $287.38 and its 200-day moving average price is $273.71. Salesforce, Inc. has a 52 week low of $193.68 and a 52 week high of $318.71. The stock has a market cap of $262.39 billion, a PE ratio of 65.10, a PEG ratio of 2.51 and a beta of 1.30.

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

Salesforce Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 11th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 14th were issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.59%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 13th. Salesforce’s payout ratio is 9.52%.

Insider Activity

In other Salesforce news, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 2,425 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $273.15, for a total transaction of $662,388.75. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 5,856 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,599,566.40. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other news, CFO Amy E. Weaver sold 942 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $305.46, for a total transaction of $287,743.32. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 39,416 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,040,011.36. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 2,425 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $273.15, for a total value of $662,388.75. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 5,856 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,599,566.40. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 636,344 shares of company stock worth $184,877,874 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

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.