Lingotto Investment Management LLP Makes New Investment in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Lingotto Investment Management LLP purchased a new stake in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 13,000 shares of the CRM provider’s stock, valued at approximately $3,342,000.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Salesforce by 186.7% in the 1st quarter. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. now owns 86 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 56 shares during the period. Piscataqua Savings Bank lifted its stake in shares of Salesforce by 2,400.0% in the 2nd quarter. Piscataqua Savings Bank now owns 100 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 96 shares during the period. Red Tortoise LLC acquired a new position in shares of Salesforce in the 1st quarter valued at $33,000. Clear Investment Research LLC lifted its stake in shares of Salesforce by 816.7% in the 2nd quarter. Clear Investment Research LLC now owns 110 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 98 shares during the period. Finally, Stephens Consulting LLC lifted its stake in shares of Salesforce by 3,125.0% in the 2nd quarter. Stephens Consulting LLC now owns 129 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 125 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.43% of the company’s stock.

Salesforce Price Performance

Shares of NYSE CRM opened at $255.32 on Wednesday. Salesforce, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $193.68 and a fifty-two week high of $318.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a current ratio of 1.04 and a quick ratio of 1.04. The stock has a market capitalization of $247.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 45.92, a PEG ratio of 2.26 and a beta of 1.29. The business has a 50-day moving average of $253.61 and a 200-day moving average of $267.11.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 28th. The CRM provider reported $2.56 EPS 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 analysts’ expectations of $9.22 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.63 earnings per share. Salesforce’s quarterly revenue was up 8.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on CRM. Wedbush reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $315.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Salesforce from $300.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. TD Cowen raised their price objective on Salesforce from $285.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. Canaccord Genuity Group raised their price objective on Salesforce from $300.00 to $315.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. Finally, Citigroup raised their price objective on Salesforce from $260.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, August 26th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-six have issued a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Salesforce presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $305.55.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Sabastian Niles sold 2,484 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $244.81, for a total transaction of $608,108.04. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 828 shares in the company, valued at $202,702.68. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other Salesforce news, insider Sabastian Niles sold 2,484 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $244.81, for a total transaction of $608,108.04. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 828 shares in the company, valued at $202,702.68. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Parker Harris sold 4,200 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $262.97, for a total transaction of $1,104,474.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 117,581 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $30,920,275.57. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 62,376 shares of company stock worth $15,878,005. Company insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

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.