Westwood Holdings Group Inc. Increases Position in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Westwood Holdings Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 32.3% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 346,556 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 84,522 shares during the period. Westwood Holdings Group Inc.’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $89,100,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in CRM. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. increased its stake in Salesforce by 186.7% during the 1st quarter. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. now owns 86 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 56 shares in the last quarter. Piscataqua Savings Bank increased its position in shares of Salesforce by 2,400.0% during the second quarter. Piscataqua Savings Bank now owns 100 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 96 shares in the last quarter. Red Tortoise LLC purchased a new position in Salesforce in the 1st quarter worth approximately $33,000. Clear Investment Research LLC lifted its position in Salesforce by 816.7% in the 2nd quarter. Clear Investment Research LLC now owns 110 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 98 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Stephens Consulting LLC increased its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 3,125.0% in the 2nd quarter. Stephens Consulting LLC now owns 129 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 125 shares in the last quarter. 80.43% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Salesforce Price Performance

Shares of CRM stock opened at $266.57 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $254.14 and its 200 day moving average is $266.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a current ratio of 1.04 and a quick ratio of 1.04. Salesforce, Inc. has a 1-year low of $193.68 and a 1-year high of $318.71. The company has a market cap of $258.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 47.94, a PEG ratio of 2.26 and a beta of 1.29.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 business had revenue of $9.33 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.22 billion. Salesforce had a return on equity of 12.01% and a net margin of 15.44%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.63 EPS. Research analysts predict that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 8th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, September 18th will be issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.60%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, September 18th. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio is currently 28.78%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Salesforce

In other news, insider Srinivas Tallapragada sold 942 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $242.32, for a total value of $228,265.44. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 22,154 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,368,357.28. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, insider Srinivas Tallapragada sold 942 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $242.32, for a total value of $228,265.44. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 22,154 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,368,357.28. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, COO Brian Millham sold 1,678 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction on Monday, June 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $242.32, for a total transaction of $406,612.96. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 1,662 shares in the company, valued at $402,735.84. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 66,576 shares of company stock worth $16,957,573 in the last three months. 3.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Salesforce from $300.00 to $310.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Erste Group Bank restated a “hold” rating on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Wednesday, September 11th. Oppenheimer increased their target price on Salesforce from $280.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Salesforce from $320.00 to $330.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $360.00 to $350.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-six have given a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $306.00.

Salesforce Company 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.