MIG Capital LLC Takes $18.28 Million Position in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

MIG Capital LLC bought a new stake in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 66,802 shares of the CRM provider’s stock, valued at approximately $18,284,000. Salesforce makes up about 2.2% of MIG Capital LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 16th largest holding.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CRM. Piscataqua Savings Bank raised its stake in shares of Salesforce by 2,400.0% during the 2nd quarter. Piscataqua Savings Bank now owns 100 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 96 shares in the last quarter. Clear Investment Research LLC raised its position in Salesforce by 816.7% during the second quarter. Clear Investment Research LLC now owns 110 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 98 shares in the last quarter. Stephens Consulting LLC lifted its stake in Salesforce by 3,125.0% in the second quarter. Stephens Consulting LLC now owns 129 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 125 shares during the last quarter. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL acquired a new position in shares of Salesforce during the 2nd quarter worth about $33,000. Finally, Godsey & Gibb Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 300.0% in the 3rd quarter. Godsey & Gibb Inc. now owns 120 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 90 shares during the period. 80.43% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Salesforce Stock Down 3.8 %

Shares of NYSE CRM opened at $330.01 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $315.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 57.39, a PEG ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 1.29. The company has a current ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. Salesforce, Inc. has a 12 month low of $212.00 and a 12 month high of $348.86. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $299.57 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $269.87.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 28th. The CRM provider reported $2.56 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.36 by $0.20. The business had revenue of $9.33 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.22 billion. Salesforce had a net margin of 15.44% and a return on equity of 12.01%. The firm’s revenue was up 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.63 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 8th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, September 18th were paid a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.48%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, September 18th. Salesforce’s payout ratio is 27.83%.

Insider Activity at Salesforce

In related news, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 413 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $285.29, for a total value of $117,824.77. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 7,006 shares in the company, valued at $1,998,741.74. This trade represents a 5.57 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, COO Brian Millham sold 60,522 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $300.00, for a total transaction of $18,156,600.00. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 144,510 shares of company stock valued at $42,475,538 in the last 90 days. 3.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently commented on CRM shares. Northland Capmk upgraded Salesforce from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Erste Group Bank raised Salesforce from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on Salesforce from $320.00 to $350.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, October 28th. Northland Securities upgraded shares of Salesforce from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $270.00 to $400.00 in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Finally, Raymond James raised their target price on shares of Salesforce from $325.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-eight have assigned a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $341.89.

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.