Nicholas Investment Partners LP Lowers Stake in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Nicholas Investment Partners LP lowered its stake in shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 73.6% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,106 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after selling 5,857 shares during the period. Nicholas Investment Partners LP’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $541,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Fox Hill Wealth Management raised its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 4.0% in the first quarter. Fox Hill Wealth Management now owns 985 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $297,000 after buying an additional 38 shares during the last quarter. Pinnacle Wealth Planning Services Inc. increased its stake in shares of Salesforce by 0.8% during the first quarter. Pinnacle Wealth Planning Services Inc. now owns 4,946 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $1,490,000 after acquiring an additional 38 shares during the period. Glassman Wealth Services increased 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 acquiring an additional 39 shares during the period. Blue Barn Wealth LLC increased its stake in shares of Salesforce by 1.8% during the first quarter. Blue Barn Wealth LLC now owns 2,207 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $665,000 after acquiring an additional 39 shares during the period. Finally, Catalyst Financial Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Salesforce by 0.8% during the second quarter. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC now owns 4,876 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $1,254,000 after acquiring an additional 39 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.43% of the company’s stock.

Salesforce Stock Performance

Shares of CRM stock opened at $253.46 on Friday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $253.73 and its 200-day simple moving average is $268.67. The company has a market cap of $245.60 billion, a PE ratio of 45.59, a P/E/G ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 1.29. Salesforce, Inc. has a 52 week low of $193.68 and a 52 week high of $318.71. The company has a current ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 28th. The CRM provider reported $2.56 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.36 by $0.20. The business had revenue of $9.33 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.22 billion. Salesforce had a net margin of 15.44% and a return on equity of 12.01%. The business’s revenue was up 8.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.63 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.54 EPS for the current year.

Salesforce Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 8th. Investors of record on Wednesday, September 18th will be issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.63%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, September 18th. Salesforce’s payout ratio is 28.78%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Salesforce news, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 413 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on 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 directly owns 6,431 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,644,921.18. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, CFO Amy E. Weaver sold 897 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $255.78, for a total value of $229,434.66. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 51,109 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,072,660.02. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 413 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 23rd. The stock was 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 $1,644,921.18. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 62,376 shares of company stock valued at $15,878,005 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have weighed in on the stock. BNP Paribas upgraded shares of Salesforce to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. Erste Group Bank restated a “hold” rating on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Wednesday. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Salesforce from $250.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of Salesforce from $320.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. Finally, Phillip Securities restated an “accumulate” rating and set a $305.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Friday, August 30th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-seven have assigned a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $304.41.

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.