China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. Raises Stock Position in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its holdings in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 9.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 23,483 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,101 shares during the quarter. Salesforce accounts for approximately 0.7% of China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd.’s holdings, making the stock its 29th largest holding. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd.’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $7,859,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Infrastructure Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Salesforce during the 3rd quarter valued at about $27,000. Godsey & Gibb Inc. grew its holdings in Salesforce by 300.0% in the third 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. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL purchased a new stake in shares of Salesforce in the second quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Annapolis Financial Services LLC lifted its position in shares of Salesforce by 135.6% during the 3rd quarter. Annapolis Financial Services LLC now owns 139 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $38,000 after buying an additional 80 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Friedenthal Financial acquired a new stake in Salesforce in the 4th quarter valued at $55,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.43% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Salesforce

In other Salesforce news, CFO Amy E. Weaver sold 6,221 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $343.00, for a total value of $2,133,803.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 53,861 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,474,323. The trade was a 10.35 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Parker Harris sold 3,970 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $296.74, for a total transaction of $1,178,057.80. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 119,402 shares in the company, valued at approximately $35,431,349.48. This trade represents a 3.22 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 1,108,669 shares of company stock valued at $383,286,905. 3.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Salesforce Price Performance

CRM stock opened at $341.80 on Friday. Salesforce, Inc. has a 1 year low of $212.00 and a 1 year high of $369.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $327.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 56.22, a P/E/G ratio of 3.20 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 1.11. The business’s 50-day moving average is $338.67 and its two-hundred day moving average is $297.37.

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

Salesforce Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 9th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, December 18th were paid a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.47%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, December 18th. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio is presently 26.32%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have issued reports on CRM shares. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $275.00 to $330.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. Robert W. Baird raised their price target on shares of Salesforce from $340.00 to $430.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Barclays boosted their price objective on Salesforce from $415.00 to $425.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Cfra set a $343.00 target price on Salesforce in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on Salesforce from $400.00 to $425.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, thirty-one have given a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Salesforce presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $377.63.

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.