Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank Acquires 26,486 Shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank increased its holdings in shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 5.0% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 554,880 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 26,486 shares during the period. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank owned approximately 0.06% of Salesforce worth $151,876,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Virtu Financial LLC acquired a new position in shares of Salesforce in the first quarter valued at approximately $859,000. Burney Co. increased its holdings in Salesforce by 1.3% during the 1st quarter. Burney Co. now owns 29,823 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $8,982,000 after purchasing an additional 390 shares in the last quarter. PGGM Investments raised its stake in shares of Salesforce by 71.3% in the 1st quarter. PGGM Investments now owns 42,373 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $12,762,000 after purchasing an additional 17,639 shares during the period. Farallon Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 1.4% in the first quarter. Farallon Capital Management LLC now owns 1,952,168 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $587,954,000 after purchasing an additional 26,430 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cetera Investment Advisers boosted its position in shares of Salesforce by 476.5% during the first quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 297,453 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $89,587,000 after buying an additional 245,857 shares during the period. 80.43% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on CRM. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on Salesforce from $350.00 to $400.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, November 11th. Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and set a $345.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a report on Friday, September 20th. Evercore ISI reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $300.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Monday, August 26th. Raymond James boosted their price target on shares of Salesforce from $325.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. Finally, Roth Mkm restated a “buy” rating and issued a $335.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-eight have assigned a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $341.89.

Insider Activity

In other news, COO Brian Millham sold 60,522 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $300.00, for a total transaction of $18,156,600.00. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Miguel Milano sold 719 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $342.81, for a total transaction of $246,480.39. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 4,659 shares in the company, valued at $1,597,151.79. This trade represents a 13.37 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 144,510 shares of company stock worth $42,475,538. 3.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Salesforce Price Performance

NYSE:CRM opened at $330.01 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a current ratio of 1.04. The firm has a market cap of $315.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 57.39, a P/E/G ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 1.29. Salesforce, Inc. has a 52 week low of $212.00 and a 52 week high of $348.86. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $299.57 and its 200 day simple moving average is $269.87.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, August 28th. The CRM provider reported $2.56 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.36 by $0.20. The company had revenue of $9.33 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.22 billion. Salesforce had a net margin of 15.44% and a return on equity of 12.01%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.63 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Salesforce Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 8th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, September 18th were paid 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 yield of 0.48%. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 27.83%.

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.