1,050 Shares in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) Acquired by Zega Financial LLC

Zega Financial LLC acquired a new position in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 1,050 shares of the CRM provider’s stock, valued at approximately $270,000.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in CRM. Spartan Planning & Wealth Management lifted its holdings in Salesforce by 66.3% in the 4th quarter. Spartan Planning & Wealth Management now owns 1,567 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $412,000 after purchasing an additional 625 shares during the last quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC raised its position in shares of Salesforce by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC now owns 5,951,415 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $1,566,055,000 after purchasing an additional 18,397 shares during the period. TD Asset Management Inc lifted its stake in shares of Salesforce by 32.6% in the fourth quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 789,525 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $207,756,000 after buying an additional 194,224 shares during the last quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC now owns 7,160 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $1,983,000 after buying an additional 95 shares during the period. Finally, M&G Plc acquired a new position in Salesforce in the 1st quarter valued at $2,178,000. Institutional investors own 80.43% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Sabastian Niles sold 2,484 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $244.81, for a total value of $608,108.04. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 828 shares in the company, valued at $202,702.68. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, insider Parker Harris sold 5,600 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $250.17, for a total transaction of $1,400,952.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 116,693 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $29,193,087.81. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Sabastian Niles sold 2,484 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $244.81, for a total transaction of $608,108.04. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 828 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $202,702.68. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 62,376 shares of company stock valued at $15,878,005 in the last 90 days. 3.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have weighed in on CRM. Sanford C. Bernstein boosted their target price on shares of Salesforce from $234.00 to $236.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. Mizuho decreased their target price on Salesforce from $345.00 to $300.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. Loop Capital lifted their price target on Salesforce from $240.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. JMP Securities reissued a “market outperform” rating and issued a $342.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Wednesday, August 28th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group dropped their target price on shares of Salesforce from $360.00 to $350.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 30th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-six have issued a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $305.55.

Salesforce Price Performance

Shares of CRM stock opened at $255.32 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $247.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 45.92, a PEG ratio of 2.26 and a beta of 1.29. Salesforce, Inc. has a 12 month low of $193.68 and a 12 month high of $318.71. The company has a quick ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $253.61 and a 200 day moving average price of $267.11.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, August 28th. The CRM provider reported $2.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.36 by $0.20. The company had revenue of $9.33 billion for 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 company’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. Research analysts expect that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.55 EPS for the current year.

Salesforce Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 8th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, September 18th will be given a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.63%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, September 18th. Salesforce’s payout ratio is 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.