Dakota Wealth Management Increases Position in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Dakota Wealth Management raised its position in shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 664.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 55,745 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after buying an additional 48,456 shares during the period. Dakota Wealth Management’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $18,638,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of CRM. Veritas Asset Management LLP acquired a new position in shares of Salesforce during the third quarter worth about $733,805,000. KBC Group NV lifted its stake in Salesforce by 171.2% in the third quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,634,834 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $447,470,000 after acquiring an additional 1,032,068 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of Salesforce by 23,664.2% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,002,848 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $274,490,000 after purchasing an additional 998,628 shares during the last quarter. Farallon Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 51.0% in the 2nd quarter. Farallon Capital Management LLC now owns 2,946,838 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $757,632,000 after purchasing an additional 994,670 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its position in shares of Salesforce by 25.1% during the 2nd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 4,378,826 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $1,125,331,000 after purchasing an additional 877,495 shares during the last quarter. 80.43% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other news, COO Brian Millham sold 969 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $286.56, for a total transaction of $277,676.64. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Marc Benioff sold 317,105 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $346.78, for a total value of $109,965,671.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 12,162,457 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,217,696,838.46. This trade represents a 2.54 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 1,172,167 shares of company stock worth $402,223,235. 3.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Needham & Company LLC upped their price objective on Salesforce from $375.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on shares of Salesforce from $400.00 to $425.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on Salesforce from $385.00 to $425.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on Salesforce from $340.00 to $430.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group increased their price objective on Salesforce from $315.00 to $415.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, thirty-one have assigned a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Salesforce presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $377.63.

Salesforce Trading Up 0.7 %

NYSE CRM opened at $326.85 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $312.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 53.76, a PEG ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 1.30. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $336.97 and its 200-day simple moving average is $292.47. The company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. Salesforce, Inc. has a 52 week low of $212.00 and a 52 week high of $369.00.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, December 3rd. The CRM provider reported $2.41 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.44 by ($0.03). Salesforce had a net margin of 15.96% and a return on equity of 12.34%. The firm had revenue of $9.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.35 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.62 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 8.3% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 9th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, December 18th were given a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.49%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, December 18th. Salesforce’s payout ratio is 26.32%.

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.