Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. Boosts Holdings in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 10.2% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 208,709 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 19,302 shares during the quarter. Salesforce accounts for approximately 0.7% of Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 22nd biggest holding. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $53,659,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in CRM. Gilbert & Cook Inc. increased its stake in shares of Salesforce by 6.9% in the fourth quarter. Gilbert & Cook Inc. now owns 5,659 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $1,489,000 after buying an additional 366 shares during the period. Aveo Capital Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Salesforce by 44.7% in the fourth quarter. Aveo Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,605 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $422,000 after buying an additional 496 shares during the period. 9258 Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Salesforce by 24.0% in the fourth quarter. 9258 Wealth Management LLC now owns 6,483 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $1,706,000 after buying an additional 1,253 shares during the period. Gryphon Financial Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Salesforce by 32.4% in the fourth quarter. Gryphon Financial Partners LLC now owns 3,960 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $1,064,000 after buying an additional 970 shares during the period. Finally, AGF Management Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Salesforce in the fourth quarter worth $280,000. 80.43% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently commented on CRM shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their target price on shares of Salesforce from $350.00 to $300.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. Piper Sandler lifted their price target on shares of Salesforce from $250.00 to $268.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, August 29th. JMP Securities reiterated a “market outperform” rating and issued a $342.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a report on Wednesday, August 28th. Bank of America reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $325.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a report on Friday, September 6th. Finally, Phillip Securities reiterated an “accumulate” rating and issued a $305.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a report on Friday, August 30th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-seven have issued a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Salesforce presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $304.41.

Insider Activity

In other news, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 413 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $255.78, for a total transaction of $105,637.14. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 6,431 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,644,921.18. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other Salesforce news, Director Oscar Munoz purchased 2,051 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 21st. The stock was purchased at an average price of $243.69 per share, with a total value of $499,808.19. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 7,026 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,712,165.94. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 413 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $255.78, for a total transaction of $105,637.14. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 6,431 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,644,921.18. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 62,376 shares of company stock valued at $15,878,005 in the last quarter. 3.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Salesforce Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:CRM opened at $254.57 on Friday. Salesforce, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $193.68 and a fifty-two week high of $318.71. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $253.56 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $268.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a current ratio of 1.04. The firm has a market cap of $246.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 45.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.26 and a beta of 1.29.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, August 28th. The CRM provider reported $2.56 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 business had revenue of $9.33 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.22 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.63 EPS. Salesforce’s revenue was up 8.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Salesforce Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 8th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, September 18th will be given a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.63%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, September 18th. Salesforce’s payout ratio is currently 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.