Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) Shares Bought by HighVista Strategies LLC

HighVista Strategies LLC lifted its stake in shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 67.1% during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 21,185 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 8,506 shares during the quarter. Salesforce comprises about 2.0% of HighVista Strategies LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 4th biggest holding. HighVista Strategies LLC’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $5,447,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CRM. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Salesforce by 186.7% in the 1st quarter. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. now owns 86 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 56 shares during the last quarter. Piscataqua Savings Bank raised its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 2,400.0% in the 2nd quarter. Piscataqua Savings Bank now owns 100 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 96 shares in the last quarter. Clear Investment Research LLC lifted its stake in Salesforce by 816.7% during the second quarter. Clear Investment Research LLC now owns 110 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 98 shares during the last quarter. Red Tortoise LLC bought a new stake in Salesforce during the first quarter worth approximately $33,000. Finally, Stephens Consulting LLC grew its position in Salesforce by 3,125.0% in the second quarter. Stephens Consulting LLC now owns 129 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 125 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.43% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently commented on CRM. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their price objective on Salesforce from $350.00 to $300.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 30th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $300.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a report on Thursday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Salesforce from $300.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on Salesforce from $300.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Finally, DA Davidson raised their target price on shares of Salesforce from $230.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-six have assigned a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $306.00.

Salesforce Price Performance

Shares of CRM stock opened at $266.80 on Monday. Salesforce, Inc. has a 12 month low of $193.68 and a 12 month high of $318.71. The company has a market capitalization of $258.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 47.99, a P/E/G ratio of 2.26 and a beta of 1.29. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $254.14 and a two-hundred day moving average of $266.18. 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 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. Salesforce had a net margin of 15.44% and a return on equity of 12.01%. The firm had revenue of $9.33 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.22 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.63 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts expect 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 issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.60%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, September 18th. Salesforce’s payout ratio is 28.78%.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Parker Harris sold 5,600 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $250.17, for a total value of $1,400,952.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 116,693 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $29,193,087.81. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other news, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 413 shares of Salesforce 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 transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 6,431 shares in the company, valued at $1,644,921.18. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Parker Harris sold 5,600 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $250.17, for a total value of $1,400,952.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 116,693 shares in the company, valued at approximately $29,193,087.81. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 63,891 shares of company stock worth $16,306,944. Company insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

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.