First Eagle Investment Management LLC Purchases 692,493 Shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

First Eagle Investment Management LLC lifted its position in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 35.8% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,624,665 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 692,493 shares during the quarter. Salesforce accounts for 1.5% of First Eagle Investment Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 26th largest position. First Eagle Investment Management LLC owned about 0.27% of Salesforce worth $674,801,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 186.7% in the first quarter. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. now owns 86 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 56 shares during the period. Piscataqua Savings Bank grew its position in Salesforce by 2,400.0% in the 2nd quarter. Piscataqua Savings Bank now owns 100 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 96 shares during the last quarter. Clear Investment Research LLC increased its stake in Salesforce by 816.7% in the second quarter. Clear Investment Research LLC now owns 110 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 98 shares during the period. Red Tortoise LLC bought a new stake in shares of Salesforce during the first quarter worth $33,000. Finally, Stephens Consulting LLC boosted its stake in shares of Salesforce by 3,125.0% during the second quarter. Stephens Consulting LLC now owns 129 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 125 shares during the period. 80.43% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently commented on the stock. Canaccord Genuity Group raised their price target on shares of Salesforce from $300.00 to $315.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note 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 research report on Monday, August 26th. Barclays lowered their price target on Salesforce from $355.00 to $305.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 30th. Roth Mkm restated a “buy” rating and set a $335.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on Salesforce from $300.00 to $320.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-six have given a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Salesforce has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $305.55.

Salesforce Trading Down 1.1 %

Salesforce stock opened at $252.42 on Thursday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $253.60 and a 200 day moving average price of $267.01. The company has a market capitalization of $244.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 45.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.26 and a beta of 1.29. Salesforce, Inc. has a 52 week low of $193.68 and a 52 week 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.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 28th. The CRM provider reported $2.56 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.36 by $0.20. The business had revenue of $9.33 billion during 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 quarterly revenue was up 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.63 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.55 EPS for the current year.

Salesforce Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 8th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, September 18th will be paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, September 18th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.63%. Salesforce’s payout ratio is currently 28.78%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 413 shares of Salesforce 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 $105,637.14. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 6,431 shares in the company, valued at $1,644,921.18. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other Salesforce news, CFO Amy E. Weaver sold 897 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $255.78, for a total value of $229,434.66. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 51,109 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,072,660.02. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 413 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $255.78, for a total value of $105,637.14. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 6,431 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,644,921.18. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 66,576 shares of company stock valued at $16,957,573 in the last quarter. 3.20% of the stock is currently owned by company 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.