EPIQ Capital Group LLC Increases Holdings in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

EPIQ Capital Group LLC raised its stake in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 7.8% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,034 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 219 shares during the period. EPIQ Capital Group LLC’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $780,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of CRM. Conscious Wealth Investments LLC grew its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 0.8% during the second quarter. Conscious Wealth Investments LLC now owns 9,992 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $2,558,000 after buying an additional 81 shares during the last quarter. Primecap Management Co. CA boosted its stake in Salesforce by 64.6% during the 2nd quarter. Primecap Management Co. CA now owns 508,600 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $130,761,000 after purchasing an additional 199,700 shares during the last quarter. GDS Wealth Management increased its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 7.7% in the 2nd quarter. GDS Wealth Management now owns 55,378 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $14,238,000 after purchasing an additional 3,940 shares in the last quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. raised its stake in shares of Salesforce by 1.5% in the second quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. now owns 38,924 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $10,007,000 after purchasing an additional 572 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI raised its stake in shares of Salesforce by 268.7% in the second quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI now owns 81,002 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $20,826,000 after purchasing an additional 59,032 shares during the last quarter. 80.43% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Salesforce news, CFO Amy E. Weaver sold 897 shares of the business’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 $229,434.66. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 51,109 shares in the company, valued at $13,072,660.02. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other Salesforce news, CFO Amy E. Weaver sold 897 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $255.78, for a total transaction of $229,434.66. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 51,109 shares in the company, valued at $13,072,660.02. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Sabastian Niles sold 2,484 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $244.81, for a total value of $608,108.04. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 828 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $202,702.68. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 62,376 shares of company stock worth $15,878,005 over the last three months. 3.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently commented on CRM shares. Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on Salesforce from $250.00 to $268.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, August 29th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $265.00 to $305.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Citigroup raised their target price on shares of Salesforce from $260.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, August 26th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $300.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Finally, BNP Paribas raised Salesforce to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-six have given a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Salesforce currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $305.55.

Salesforce Stock Up 0.9 %

CRM opened at $256.81 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $253.55 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $267.55. Salesforce, Inc. has a 52 week low of $193.68 and a 52 week high of $318.71. The company has a market capitalization of $248.85 billion, a PE ratio of 46.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.26 and a beta of 1.29. The company has a quick ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last issued 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 net margin of 15.44% and a return on equity of 12.01%. The business had revenue of $9.33 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.22 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.63 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 8.5% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Dividend Announcement

The business 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. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, September 18th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.62%. Salesforce’s 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.