OV Management LLC Grows Position in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

OV Management LLC boosted its holdings in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 1.0% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 10,746 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 102 shares during the quarter. Salesforce comprises approximately 1.9% of OV Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 13th biggest holding. OV Management LLC’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $2,763,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Salesforce in the fourth quarter valued at $2,762,331,000. Capital International Investors boosted its stake in shares of Salesforce by 76.4% during the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 13,708,615 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $3,607,493,000 after acquiring an additional 5,935,973 shares during the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors boosted its stake in shares of Salesforce by 26.9% during the first quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 14,376,536 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $4,329,925,000 after acquiring an additional 3,044,611 shares during the last quarter. GQG Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Salesforce during the first quarter valued at $910,220,000. Finally, Swedbank AB acquired a new stake in shares of Salesforce during the first quarter valued at $874,748,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.43% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Salesforce

In related news, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 413 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $255.78, for a total value of $105,637.14. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 6,431 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,644,921.18. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, CFO Amy E. Weaver sold 897 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $255.78, for a total value of $229,434.66. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 51,109 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,072,660.02. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 413 shares of Salesforce 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 in the company, valued at $1,644,921.18. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 62,376 shares of company stock worth $15,878,005 in the last ninety days. 3.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently commented on CRM. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on Salesforce from $265.00 to $305.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. BNP Paribas raised Salesforce to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. FBN Securities raised shares of Salesforce to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. Erste Group Bank reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Oppenheimer lifted their price target on shares of Salesforce from $280.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-seven have assigned a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $304.41.

Salesforce Trading Up 0.5 %

Salesforce stock opened at $254.57 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a current ratio of 1.04. Salesforce, Inc. has a 1 year low of $193.68 and a 1 year high of $318.71. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $253.56 and its 200-day moving average is $268.35. The company has a market cap of $246.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 45.79, a PEG ratio of 2.26 and a beta of 1.29.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, August 28th. The CRM provider reported $2.56 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.22 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.63 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts expect that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Salesforce Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 8th. Investors of record on Wednesday, September 18th will be issued a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, September 18th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.63%. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 28.78%.

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.