Long Path Partners LP Reduces Holdings in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Long Path Partners LP lessened its stake in shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 3.9% during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 76,894 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after selling 3,135 shares during the quarter. Salesforce comprises about 7.8% of Long Path Partners LP’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 6th biggest holding. Long Path Partners LP’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $19,769,000 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 the company. Spartan Planning & Wealth Management grew its stake in shares of Salesforce by 66.3% in the 4th quarter. Spartan Planning & Wealth Management now owns 1,567 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $412,000 after purchasing an additional 625 shares during the last quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC grew its position in Salesforce by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC now owns 5,951,415 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $1,566,055,000 after buying an additional 18,397 shares during the last quarter. TD Asset Management Inc increased its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 32.6% in the fourth quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 789,525 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $207,756,000 after buying an additional 194,224 shares in the last quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC lifted its position in shares of Salesforce by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC now owns 7,160 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $1,983,000 after acquiring an additional 95 shares during the last quarter. Finally, XN LP boosted its stake in shares of Salesforce by 24.2% during the 2nd quarter. XN LP now owns 464,489 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $119,420,000 after acquiring an additional 90,616 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.43% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on CRM shares. Bank of America reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $325.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a report on Friday, September 6th. Stifel Nicolaus raised 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. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Salesforce from $250.00 to $275.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, August 29th. DA Davidson raised their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $230.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Salesforce from $320.00 to $330.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-six have issued a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Salesforce currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $306.00.

Salesforce Price Performance

Shares of Salesforce stock opened at $264.21 on Tuesday. Salesforce, Inc. has a 1-year low of $193.68 and a 1-year high of $318.71. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $254.37 and a 200-day simple moving average of $265.91. The company has a current ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. The stock has a market capitalization of $256.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 47.52, a PEG ratio of 2.26 and a beta of 1.29.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 28th. The CRM provider reported $2.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.36 by $0.20. The company 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 prior year, the company earned $1.63 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Salesforce Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 8th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, September 18th will be given a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.61%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, September 18th. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio is currently 28.78%.

Insider Transactions at Salesforce

In related news, insider Parker Harris sold 5,600 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $250.17, for a total transaction of $1,400,952.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 116,693 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $29,193,087.81. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, COO Brian Millham sold 5,735 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $266.22, for a total transaction of $1,526,771.70. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 1,663 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $442,723.86. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Parker Harris sold 5,600 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $250.17, for a total value of $1,400,952.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 116,693 shares in the company, valued at $29,193,087.81. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 70,633 shares of company stock worth $18,100,349 over the last three months. 3.20% of the stock is currently owned by 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.