Columbus Hill Capital Management L.P. Acquires 34,435 Shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Columbus Hill Capital Management L.P. boosted its stake in shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 87.6% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 73,759 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after buying an additional 34,435 shares during the quarter. Salesforce makes up approximately 3.9% of Columbus Hill Capital Management L.P.’s portfolio, making the stock its 12th largest holding. Columbus Hill Capital Management L.P.’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $18,963,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Fox Hill Wealth Management raised its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 4.0% in the 1st quarter. Fox Hill Wealth Management now owns 985 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $297,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares during the period. Pinnacle Wealth Planning Services Inc. increased its holdings in Salesforce by 0.8% in the 1st quarter. Pinnacle Wealth Planning Services Inc. now owns 4,946 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $1,490,000 after acquiring an additional 38 shares during the last quarter. Glassman Wealth Services lifted its holdings in Salesforce by 2.9% during the fourth quarter. Glassman Wealth Services now owns 1,369 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $360,000 after purchasing an additional 39 shares during the last quarter. Blue Barn Wealth LLC boosted its position in Salesforce by 1.8% during the first quarter. Blue Barn Wealth LLC now owns 2,207 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $665,000 after purchasing an additional 39 shares during the period. Finally, Catalyst Financial Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Salesforce by 0.8% in the second quarter. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC now owns 4,876 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $1,254,000 after purchasing an additional 39 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.43% of the company’s stock.

Salesforce Trading Up 0.2 %

NYSE CRM opened at $266.57 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $258.31 billion, a PE ratio of 47.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.26 and a beta of 1.29. Salesforce, Inc. has a 1-year low of $193.68 and a 1-year high of $318.71. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $254.14 and a 200-day moving average of $266.67. 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 (NYSE:CRM) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 28th. The CRM provider reported $2.56 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.36 by $0.20. Salesforce had a return on equity of 12.01% and a net margin of 15.44%. The firm had revenue of $9.33 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.22 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.63 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 8.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.55 EPS for the current year.

Salesforce Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 8th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, September 18th will be issued a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.60%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, September 18th. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 28.78%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Salesforce

In other news, insider Srinivas Tallapragada sold 942 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $242.32, for a total transaction of $228,265.44. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 22,154 shares in the company, valued at $5,368,357.28. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, insider Srinivas Tallapragada sold 942 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $242.32, for a total transaction of $228,265.44. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 22,154 shares in the company, valued at $5,368,357.28. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 413 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 transaction of $105,637.14. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 6,431 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,644,921.18. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 66,576 shares of company stock worth $16,957,573. 3.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. DA Davidson lifted their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $230.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. Erste Group Bank reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Salesforce in a report on Wednesday, September 11th. TD Cowen upped their price target on Salesforce from $285.00 to $290.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $300.00 to $310.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on shares of Salesforce from $300.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-six have given a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $306.00.

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.