GS Investments Inc. Raises Stake in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

GS Investments Inc. increased its stake in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 73.3% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 12,034 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 5,088 shares during the quarter. Salesforce accounts for 1.5% of GS Investments Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 28th largest position. GS Investments Inc.’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $3,294,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Aviance Capital Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. Aviance Capital Partners LLC now owns 6,797 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $1,860,000 after acquiring an additional 33 shares during the last quarter. Umpqua Bank raised its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 0.4% during the third quarter. Umpqua Bank now owns 7,708 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $2,110,000 after purchasing an additional 34 shares during the period. Nvwm LLC lifted its holdings in Salesforce by 1.4% in the third quarter. Nvwm LLC now owns 2,565 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $667,000 after acquiring an additional 36 shares during the last quarter. Prentice Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 1.5% in the 3rd quarter. Prentice Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,506 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $686,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Private Wealth Management Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 11.6% during the third quarter. Private Wealth Management Group LLC now owns 357 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $98,000 after acquiring an additional 37 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.43% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Piper Sandler downgraded Salesforce from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $250.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” 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 company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, August 26th. Raymond James increased their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $325.00 to $350.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Salesforce from $320.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Eight equities research 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Salesforce presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $326.19.

Salesforce Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:CRM opened at $325.70 on Thursday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $291.21 and a 200 day simple moving average of $267.72. 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, Inc. has a 1 year low of $212.00 and a 1 year high of $348.86. The firm has a market cap of $311.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 56.64, a P/E/G ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 1.29.

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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.22 billion. Salesforce had a net margin of 15.44% and a return on equity of 12.01%. Salesforce’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.63 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 8th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, September 18th were issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, September 18th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.49%. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 27.83%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Salesforce

In other news, insider Parker Harris sold 4,200 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $262.90, for a total value of $1,104,180.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 117,581 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $30,912,044.90. This represents a 3.45 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Amy E. Weaver sold 897 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $285.29, for a total transaction of $255,905.13. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 52,930 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $15,100,399.70. This trade represents a 1.67 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 136,117 shares of company stock valued at $39,085,562 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

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.