Zega Financial LLC Invests $270,000 in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Zega Financial LLC acquired a new stake in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) in the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund acquired 1,050 shares of the CRM provider’s stock, valued at approximately $270,000.

A number of other large investors have also bought and sold shares of CRM. Spartan Planning & Wealth Management increased its position in shares of Salesforce by 66.3% during the fourth quarter. Spartan Planning & Wealth Management now owns 1,567 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $412,000 after acquiring an additional 625 shares in the last quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC boosted its stake in Salesforce by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC now owns 5,951,415 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $1,566,055,000 after purchasing an additional 18,397 shares during the period. TD Asset Management Inc increased its holdings in Salesforce by 32.6% during the 4th quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 789,525 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $207,756,000 after purchasing an additional 194,224 shares in the last quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Salesforce by 1.3% in the 4th quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC now owns 7,160 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $1,983,000 after purchasing an additional 95 shares during the period. Finally, M&G Plc bought a new stake in shares of Salesforce in the first quarter valued at about $2,178,000. 80.43% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Salesforce

In other Salesforce news, CFO Amy E. Weaver sold 897 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $255.78, for a total value of $229,434.66. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 51,109 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,072,660.02. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other Salesforce news, COO Brian Millham sold 1,678 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $242.32, for a total transaction of $406,612.96. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 1,662 shares in the company, valued at $402,735.84. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Amy E. Weaver sold 897 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $255.78, for a total value of $229,434.66. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 51,109 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,072,660.02. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 62,376 shares of company stock worth $15,878,005. Company insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

Salesforce Stock Performance

CRM opened at $255.32 on Wednesday. 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 company has a market capitalization of $247.41 billion, a PE ratio of 45.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.26 and a beta of 1.29. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $253.61 and a 200 day simple moving average of $267.11. Salesforce, Inc. has a 1 year low of $193.68 and a 1 year high of $318.71.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, August 28th. The CRM provider reported $2.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.36 by $0.20. Salesforce had a net margin of 15.44% and a return on equity of 12.01%. The company had revenue of $9.33 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.22 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.63 earnings per share. Salesforce’s quarterly revenue was up 8.5% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.55 EPS 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 $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, September 18th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.63%. Salesforce’s payout ratio is 28.78%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently issued reports on CRM. Citigroup increased their price objective on Salesforce from $260.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, August 26th. DA Davidson raised their price target on shares of Salesforce from $230.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. Phillip Securities reissued an “accumulate” rating and issued a $305.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Friday, August 30th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on shares of Salesforce from $300.00 to $320.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. Finally, Roth Mkm reissued a “buy” rating and set a $335.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. Nine research 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 company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Salesforce has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $305.55.

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.