ST Germain D J Co. Inc. Boosts Position in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

ST Germain D J Co. Inc. boosted its stake in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 0.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 22,676 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 57 shares during the period. ST Germain D J Co. Inc.’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $7,581,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Veritas Asset Management LLP bought a new position in Salesforce in the third quarter worth about $733,805,000. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 48.3% during the 2nd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 5,906,877 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $1,518,658,000 after acquiring an additional 1,922,674 shares during the period. KBC Group NV raised its position in shares of Salesforce by 171.2% in the 3rd quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,634,834 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $447,470,000 after acquiring an additional 1,032,068 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Salesforce by 23,664.2% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,002,848 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $274,490,000 after purchasing an additional 998,628 shares during the period. Finally, Farallon Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Salesforce by 51.0% during the second quarter. Farallon Capital Management LLC now owns 2,946,838 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $757,632,000 after purchasing an additional 994,670 shares in the last quarter. 80.43% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have commented on CRM. Wedbush reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $425.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $360.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. DA Davidson upped their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $250.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Canaccord Genuity Group lifted their target price on shares of Salesforce from $315.00 to $415.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on Salesforce from $385.00 to $425.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating, thirty have given a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Salesforce presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $376.05.

Salesforce Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:CRM traded down $8.75 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $318.15. The company had a trading volume of 2,842,683 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,287,521. Salesforce, Inc. has a 12-month low of $212.00 and a 12-month high of $369.00. The company has a fifty day moving average of $335.36 and a two-hundred day moving average of $288.53. The company has a market cap of $304.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 52.33, a PEG ratio of 3.21 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 1.11.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, December 3rd. The CRM provider reported $2.41 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.44 by ($0.03). The company had revenue of $9.44 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.35 billion. Salesforce had a return on equity of 12.34% and a net margin of 15.96%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.62 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 9th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, December 18th were given a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, December 18th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.50%. Salesforce’s payout ratio is 26.32%.

Insider Activity at Salesforce

In other Salesforce news, Director G Mason Morfit sold 722,300 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $346.11, for a total value of $249,995,253.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 3,192,009 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,104,786,234.99. The trade was a 18.45 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Marc Benioff sold 317,105 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $346.78, for a total transaction of $109,965,671.90. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 12,162,457 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,217,696,838.46. This trade represents a 2.54 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 1,181,817 shares of company stock worth $404,760,429. 3.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.