ValueAct Holdings L.P. Grows Stake in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

ValueAct Holdings L.P. increased its holdings in shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 12.3% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 3,914,309 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 428,000 shares during the period. Salesforce accounts for 28.2% of ValueAct Holdings L.P.’s holdings, making the stock its biggest holding. ValueAct Holdings L.P. owned about 0.40% of Salesforce worth $1,006,369,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Gilbert & Cook Inc. boosted its stake in Salesforce by 6.9% in the fourth quarter. Gilbert & Cook Inc. now owns 5,659 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $1,489,000 after acquiring an additional 366 shares in the last quarter. Aveo Capital Partners LLC boosted its stake in Salesforce by 44.7% in the fourth quarter. Aveo Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,605 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $422,000 after acquiring an additional 496 shares in the last quarter. 9258 Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in Salesforce by 24.0% in the fourth quarter. 9258 Wealth Management LLC now owns 6,483 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $1,706,000 after acquiring an additional 1,253 shares in the last quarter. Gryphon Financial Partners LLC boosted its stake in Salesforce by 32.4% in the fourth quarter. Gryphon Financial Partners LLC now owns 3,960 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $1,064,000 after acquiring an additional 970 shares in the last quarter. Finally, TrinityPoint Wealth LLC boosted its stake in Salesforce by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. TrinityPoint Wealth LLC now owns 8,036 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $2,115,000 after acquiring an additional 133 shares in the last quarter. 80.43% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Salesforce

In related news, CFO Amy E. Weaver sold 897 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 $229,434.66. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 51,109 shares in the company, valued at $13,072,660.02. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 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 transaction, the chief accounting officer now 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 is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Amy E. Weaver sold 897 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 value of $229,434.66. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 51,109 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,072,660.02. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 70,633 shares of company stock valued at $18,100,349 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $360.00 to $350.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. Oppenheimer lifted their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $280.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $250.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $300.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. Finally, Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $260.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, August 26th. Nine research 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. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $306.00.

Salesforce Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:CRM opened at $264.21 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a current ratio of 1.04 and a quick ratio of 1.04. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $254.37 and its 200-day moving average price is $265.91. The firm has a market capitalization of $256.02 billion, a PE ratio of 47.52, a P/E/G 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.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 28th. The CRM provider reported $2.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.36 by $0.20. The firm had revenue of $9.33 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.22 billion. Salesforce had a return on equity of 12.01% and a net margin of 15.44%. The business’s revenue was up 8.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.63 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Announces Dividend

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

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.