Barings LLC Has $1.87 Million Stock Holdings in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Barings LLC reduced its position in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 17.2% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 7,283 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after selling 1,517 shares during the period. Barings LLC’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $1,872,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Fox Hill Wealth Management increased its position in Salesforce by 4.0% in the first quarter. Fox Hill Wealth Management now owns 985 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $297,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares during the period. Pinnacle Wealth Planning Services Inc. grew its position in shares of Salesforce by 0.8% during the 1st quarter. Pinnacle Wealth Planning Services Inc. now owns 4,946 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $1,490,000 after buying an additional 38 shares during the period. Glassman Wealth Services raised its stake in shares of Salesforce by 2.9% during the fourth quarter. Glassman Wealth Services now owns 1,369 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $360,000 after buying an additional 39 shares during the last quarter. Blue Barn Wealth LLC lifted its holdings in Salesforce by 1.8% in the first quarter. Blue Barn Wealth LLC now owns 2,207 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $665,000 after buying an additional 39 shares during the period. Finally, Catalyst Financial Partners LLC boosted its stake in Salesforce by 0.8% in the second quarter. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC now owns 4,876 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $1,254,000 after acquiring an additional 39 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.43% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Salesforce

In related news, insider Srinivas Tallapragada sold 942 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $242.32, for a total transaction of $228,265.44. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 22,154 shares in the company, valued at $5,368,357.28. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, insider Srinivas Tallapragada sold 942 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $242.32, for a total transaction of $228,265.44. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 22,154 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,368,357.28. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 413 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $255.78, for a total transaction of $105,637.14. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 6,431 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,644,921.18. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 59,892 shares of company stock worth $15,269,897 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

CRM has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $345.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Friday, September 6th. Evercore ISI reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $300.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Monday, August 26th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Salesforce from $320.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. Sanford C. Bernstein increased their price target on shares of Salesforce from $234.00 to $236.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. Finally, TD Cowen boosted their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $285.00 to $290.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-seven have given a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Salesforce has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $304.41.

Salesforce Price Performance

Shares of NYSE CRM opened at $249.57 on Thursday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $253.88 and a 200-day moving average of $268.78. Salesforce, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $193.68 and a fifty-two week high of $318.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a current ratio of 1.04 and a quick ratio of 1.04. The stock has a market capitalization of $241.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 44.89, a PEG ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 1.29.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 28th. The CRM provider reported $2.56 earnings per share (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 analysts’ expectations of $9.22 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.63 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 8th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, September 18th will be paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, September 18th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.64%. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio is presently 28.78%.

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.