Legal & General Group Plc Increases Stock Position in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Legal & General Group Plc lifted its holdings in shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 2.2% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 8,329,687 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after buying an additional 176,641 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc owned about 0.86% of Salesforce worth $2,141,562,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Salesforce by 1.2% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 84,635,254 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $25,490,446,000 after buying an additional 1,008,841 shares during the period. Capital World Investors increased its position in Salesforce by 2.4% during the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 19,561,325 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $5,147,402,000 after buying an additional 457,463 shares in the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 5.2% in the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 14,905,462 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $3,922,223,000 after acquiring an additional 736,986 shares during the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors lifted its position in shares of Salesforce by 26.9% in the first quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 14,376,536 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $4,329,925,000 after acquiring an additional 3,044,611 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Capital International Investors boosted its stake in shares of Salesforce by 3.0% during the first quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 14,116,449 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $4,251,592,000 after acquiring an additional 407,834 shares during the last quarter. 80.43% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Salesforce

In related news, insider Parker Harris sold 4,200 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $256.24, for a total value of $1,076,208.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 116,693 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $29,901,414.32. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, insider Parker Harris sold 4,200 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $256.24, for a total value of $1,076,208.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 116,693 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $29,901,414.32. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 413 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 directly owns 6,431 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,644,921.18. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 63,015 shares of company stock valued at $16,174,717. 3.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

CRM has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Phillip Securities restated an “accumulate” rating and issued a $305.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a report on Friday, August 30th. Truist Financial reissued a “buy” rating and set a $315.00 price objective (up previously from $300.00) on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. Citigroup lifted their target price 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. Oppenheimer increased their price target on Salesforce from $280.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. Finally, Loop Capital restated a “hold” rating and set a $270.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a report on Thursday, September 19th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-seven have given a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Salesforce has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $307.73.

Salesforce Stock Performance

Salesforce stock opened at $275.67 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $263.54 billion, a PE ratio of 49.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 1.29. Salesforce, Inc. has a one year low of $193.68 and a one year high of $318.71. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $255.68 and its 200 day moving average price is $265.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a current ratio of 1.04.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, August 28th. The CRM provider reported $2.56 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.36 by $0.20. The business had revenue of $9.33 billion for 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 revenue for the quarter was up 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.63 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 8th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, September 18th will be paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, September 18th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.58%. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio is presently 28.78%.

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.