Douglas Lane & Associates LLC Acquires 52,104 Shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Douglas Lane & Associates LLC increased its holdings in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 57.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 142,741 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 52,104 shares during the period. Douglas Lane & Associates LLC’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $47,723,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of CRM. Veritas Asset Management LLP acquired a new position in shares of Salesforce during the 3rd quarter valued at about $733,805,000. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its position in Salesforce by 48.3% during the second quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 5,906,877 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $1,518,658,000 after purchasing an additional 1,922,674 shares during the period. KBC Group NV grew its holdings in Salesforce by 171.2% during the third quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,634,834 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $447,470,000 after purchasing an additional 1,032,068 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its position in shares of Salesforce by 23,664.2% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,002,848 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $274,490,000 after purchasing an additional 998,628 shares during the period. Finally, Farallon Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Salesforce by 51.0% in the second quarter. Farallon Capital Management LLC now owns 2,946,838 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $757,632,000 after buying an additional 994,670 shares during the last quarter. 80.43% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other Salesforce news, insider Parker Harris sold 4,200 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $289.87, for a total transaction of $1,217,454.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 118,514 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $34,353,653.18. This trade represents a 3.42 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 413 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $285.29, for a total transaction of $117,824.77. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 7,006 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,998,741.74. This represents a 5.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 1,181,817 shares of company stock valued at $404,760,429. 3.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have weighed in on CRM shares. Truist Financial reissued a “buy” rating and set a $400.00 target price (up previously from $380.00) on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Northland Capmk upgraded Salesforce from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. Wedbush reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $425.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Loop Capital increased their price objective on Salesforce from $340.00 to $360.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Macquarie reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $370.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating, thirty have issued a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $376.05.

Salesforce Stock Up 0.6 %

Shares of NYSE CRM traded up $2.07 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $327.00. The company had a trading volume of 1,958,149 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,239,240. Salesforce, Inc. has a one year low of $212.00 and a one year high of $369.00. The company has a market capitalization of $312.94 billion, a PE ratio of 53.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.21 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $334.05 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $287.99.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, December 3rd. The CRM provider reported $2.41 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.44 by ($0.03). The company had revenue of $9.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.35 billion. Salesforce had a return on equity of 12.34% and a net margin of 15.96%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.62 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.48 EPS for the current year.

Salesforce Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 9th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, December 18th will be paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, December 18th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.49%. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio is presently 26.32%.

Salesforce 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.