Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Has $89.55 Million Stock Holdings in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. trimmed its position in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 14.6% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 327,158 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after selling 55,769 shares during the quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A.’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $89,546,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Prentice Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Salesforce by 1.5% during the 3rd quarter. Prentice Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,506 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $686,000 after acquiring an additional 37 shares during the period. Fox Hill Wealth Management lifted its position in shares of Salesforce by 4.0% during the 1st quarter. Fox Hill Wealth Management now owns 985 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $297,000 after acquiring an additional 38 shares during the period. Pinnacle Wealth Planning Services Inc. lifted its position in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 38 shares during the period. Fulton Bank N.A. lifted its position in shares of Salesforce by 0.4% during the 3rd quarter. Fulton Bank N.A. now owns 9,269 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $2,537,000 after acquiring an additional 38 shares during the period. Finally, CRA Financial Services LLC lifted its position in shares of Salesforce by 3.4% during the 3rd quarter. CRA Financial Services LLC now owns 1,160 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $318,000 after acquiring an additional 38 shares during the period. 80.43% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently weighed in on CRM. Oppenheimer restated an “outperform” rating and set a $330.00 price objective (up from $300.00) on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Thursday. Canaccord Genuity Group upped their price objective on Salesforce from $300.00 to $315.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. Loop Capital restated a “hold” rating and set a $270.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. Evercore ISI restated an “outperform” rating and set a $300.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Monday, August 26th. Finally, BNP Paribas upgraded Salesforce to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-six have assigned a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $312.51.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Parker Harris sold 4,200 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $289.87, for a total value of $1,217,454.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 118,514 shares in the company, valued at $34,353,653.18. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, Director Maynard G. Webb, Jr. sold 9,170 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $276.32, for a total transaction of $2,533,854.40. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 1,363 shares in the company, valued at approximately $376,624.16. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Parker Harris sold 4,200 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $289.87, for a total value of $1,217,454.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 118,514 shares in the company, valued at $34,353,653.18. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 86,812 shares of company stock worth $23,418,916 over the last 90 days. 3.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Salesforce Stock Up 0.9 %

NYSE:CRM traded up $2.45 on Thursday, hitting $286.88. The stock had a trading volume of 1,314,051 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,339,606. The business’s fifty day moving average is $268.70 and its 200 day moving average is $263.24. The company has a market cap of $277.99 billion, a PE ratio of 51.54, a P/E/G ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a quick ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. Salesforce, Inc. has a 52 week low of $193.68 and a 52 week high of $318.71.

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

Salesforce Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 8th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, September 18th were issued a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, September 18th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.56%. 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.