Sierra Summit Advisors LLC Boosts Holdings in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Sierra Summit Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 16.6% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 33,578 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after buying an additional 4,779 shares during the quarter. Salesforce comprises approximately 2.1% of Sierra Summit Advisors LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 17th largest position. Sierra Summit Advisors LLC’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $8,633,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Salesforce by 1.2% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 84,635,254 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $25,490,446,000 after acquiring an additional 1,008,841 shares during the last quarter. Capital World Investors increased its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 2.4% in the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 19,561,325 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $5,147,402,000 after buying an additional 457,463 shares during the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of Salesforce by 5.2% during the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 14,905,462 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $3,922,223,000 after buying an additional 736,986 shares in the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors lifted its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 26.9% in the 1st quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 14,376,536 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $4,329,925,000 after acquiring an additional 3,044,611 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Capital International Investors grew its position in Salesforce by 3.0% in the first quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 14,116,449 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $4,251,592,000 after acquiring an additional 407,834 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.43% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CRM has been the subject of several analyst reports. DA Davidson raised their price objective on Salesforce from $230.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $250.00 to $275.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on shares of Salesforce from $300.00 to $320.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $300.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. Finally, Robert W. Baird upped their price target on shares of Salesforce from $295.00 to $315.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-six have given a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Salesforce has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $305.55.

Salesforce Price Performance

Salesforce stock opened at $254.57 on Monday. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $253.56 and a 200-day simple moving average of $267.91. The company has a quick ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. The firm has a market capitalization of $246.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 45.79, a PEG ratio of 2.26 and a beta of 1.29. Salesforce, Inc. has a 52-week low of $193.68 and a 52-week high of $318.71.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, August 28th. The CRM provider reported $2.56 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.22 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.63 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Announces Dividend

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Parker Harris sold 2,800 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $241.22, for a total transaction of $675,416.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 117,581 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $28,362,888.82. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other Salesforce news, insider Miguel Milano sold 2,934 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $262.95, for a total transaction of $771,495.30. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 3,716 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $977,122.20. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Parker Harris sold 2,800 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $241.22, for a total transaction of $675,416.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 117,581 shares in the company, valued at $28,362,888.82. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 62,376 shares of company stock valued at $15,878,005 over the last ninety days. 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.