Canada Pension Plan Investment Board Has $491.59 Million Stake in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Canada Pension Plan Investment Board grew its position in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 54.3% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,912,075 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 672,979 shares during the quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board owned about 0.20% of Salesforce worth $491,594,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in CRM. Fox Hill Wealth Management grew its stake in shares of Salesforce by 4.0% in the 1st quarter. Fox Hill Wealth Management now owns 985 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $297,000 after buying an additional 38 shares during the period. Pinnacle Wealth Planning Services Inc. boosted its stake in Salesforce by 0.8% during the 1st quarter. Pinnacle Wealth Planning Services Inc. now owns 4,946 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $1,490,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares during the last quarter. Glassman Wealth Services boosted its stake in Salesforce by 2.9% during the 4th quarter. Glassman Wealth Services now owns 1,369 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $360,000 after purchasing an additional 39 shares during the last quarter. Blue Barn Wealth LLC boosted its stake in Salesforce by 1.8% during the 1st quarter. Blue Barn Wealth LLC now owns 2,207 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $665,000 after purchasing an additional 39 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Catalyst Financial Partners LLC boosted its stake in Salesforce by 0.8% during the 2nd quarter. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC now owns 4,876 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $1,254,000 after purchasing an additional 39 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.43% of the company’s stock.

Salesforce Stock Up 5.3 %

CRM opened at $265.87 on Friday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $253.90 and a 200-day moving average price of $267.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $257.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 47.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.26 and a beta of 1.29. 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 one year low of $193.68 and a one year high of $318.71.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 28th. The CRM provider reported $2.56 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.22 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.63 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.5% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Announces Dividend

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the company. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on Salesforce from $265.00 to $305.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. Mizuho cut their price target on Salesforce from $345.00 to $300.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Salesforce from $250.00 to $275.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Salesforce from $300.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. Finally, Bank of America reissued a “buy” rating and set a $325.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Friday, September 6th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-six have given a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $306.00.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Parker Harris sold 2,800 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $241.22, for a total value of $675,416.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 117,581 shares in the company, valued at $28,362,888.82. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other Salesforce news, insider Parker Harris sold 2,800 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $241.22, for a total value of $675,416.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 117,581 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $28,362,888.82. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Srinivas Tallapragada sold 942 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $242.32, for a total transaction of $228,265.44. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 22,154 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,368,357.28. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 66,576 shares of company stock worth $16,957,573. Corporate insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

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.