Weiss Asset Management LP Invests $3.05 Million in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Weiss Asset Management LP bought a new position in shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) during the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm bought 11,136 shares of the CRM provider’s stock, valued at approximately $3,048,000.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of CRM. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Salesforce by 16.1% in the second quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 931 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $239,000 after buying an additional 129 shares during the period. Ignite Planners LLC increased its stake in Salesforce by 14.6% in the second quarter. Ignite Planners LLC now owns 1,311 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $345,000 after purchasing an additional 167 shares in the last quarter. Curated Wealth Partners LLC increased its stake in Salesforce by 204.8% in the second quarter. Curated Wealth Partners LLC now owns 935 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $240,000 after purchasing an additional 1,827 shares in the last quarter. Muirfield Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in Salesforce by 6.6% in the second quarter. Muirfield Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,100 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $283,000 after purchasing an additional 68 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Kraematon Investment Advisors Inc. increased its stake in Salesforce by 12.6% in the second quarter. Kraematon Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 3,723 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $957,000 after purchasing an additional 417 shares in the last quarter. 80.43% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Salesforce Stock Performance

Shares of CRM stock opened at $361.99 on Friday. Salesforce, Inc. has a one year low of $212.00 and a one year high of $369.00. The stock has a market cap of $346.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 59.54, a P/E/G ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $308.26 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $272.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a current ratio of 1.04 and a quick ratio of 1.04.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, December 3rd. The CRM provider reported $2.41 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.44 by ($0.03). Salesforce had a return on equity of 12.31% and a net margin of 15.96%. The business had revenue of $9.44 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.35 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.62 earnings per share. Salesforce’s revenue was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.55 EPS for the current year.

Salesforce Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 9th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, December 18th will be issued a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.44%. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio is currently 26.32%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Salesforce

In related news, insider Sabastian Niles sold 2,484 shares of Salesforce 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 828 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $202,702.68. The trade was a 75.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Miguel Milano sold 719 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $342.81, for a total transaction of $246,480.39. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 4,659 shares in the company, valued at $1,597,151.79. This trade represents a 13.37 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 140,982 shares of company stock valued at $41,591,457 in the last ninety days. 3.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have commented on the stock. Wedbush upped their target price on shares of Salesforce from $325.00 to $375.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, November 25th. Northland Capmk raised shares of Salesforce from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. TD Cowen upped their target price on shares of Salesforce from $290.00 to $340.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. Sanford C. Bernstein increased their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $234.00 to $236.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. Finally, Northland Securities reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $440.00 price objective (up previously from $400.00) on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Wednesday. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have given a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $372.86.

Salesforce Company 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.