Zhang Financial LLC Grows Stock Holdings in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Zhang Financial LLC raised its holdings in shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 2.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 7,027 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 160 shares during the quarter. Zhang Financial LLC’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $2,349,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Veritas Asset Management LLP purchased a new position in shares of Salesforce during the third quarter valued at approximately $733,805,000. KBC Group NV lifted its stake in shares of Salesforce by 171.2% during the 3rd 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 boosted its holdings in Salesforce by 23,664.2% during 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 acquiring an additional 998,628 shares during the period. Farallon Capital Management LLC grew its position in 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 acquiring an additional 994,670 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its stake in Salesforce by 25.1% in the second 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 period. 80.43% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Salesforce Price Performance

Shares of CRM opened at $324.77 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $310.81 billion, a PE ratio of 53.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 1.11. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $337.31 and its 200-day moving average price is $291.80. Salesforce, Inc. has a 1-year low of $212.00 and a 1-year high of $369.00.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, December 3rd. The CRM provider reported $2.41 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.35 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.62 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.48 EPS for the current year.

Salesforce Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on CRM. Scotiabank boosted their target price on shares of Salesforce from $425.00 to $440.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $415.00 to $425.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on shares of Salesforce from $385.00 to $425.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Bank of America boosted their price target on Salesforce from $390.00 to $440.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Cfra set a $343.00 price objective on Salesforce in a report on Thursday, October 17th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, thirty-one have issued a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $377.63.

Insider Activity

In related news, COO Brian Millham sold 6,161 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $289.75, for a total transaction of $1,785,149.75. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 969 shares in the company, valued at $280,767.75. This represents a 86.41 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director G Mason Morfit sold 722,300 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $346.11, for a total transaction of $249,995,253.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 3,192,009 shares in the company, valued at $1,104,786,234.99. This represents a 18.45 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 1,183,838 shares of company stock valued at $405,595,158 in the last ninety days. 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.