Shum Financial Group Inc. Makes New Investment in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Shum Financial Group Inc. purchased a new position in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund purchased 3,893 shares of the CRM provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,158,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 13.6% during the third quarter. Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 58,036 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $15,885,000 after purchasing an additional 6,938 shares during the last quarter. Aljian Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Salesforce by 16.1% during the 3rd quarter. Aljian Capital Management LLC now owns 13,258 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $3,629,000 after purchasing an additional 1,834 shares during the period. AIA Group Ltd grew its stake in Salesforce by 8.9% during the 3rd quarter. AIA Group Ltd now owns 24,028 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $6,577,000 after buying an additional 1,962 shares during the last quarter. Harvest Portfolios Group Inc. increased its position in Salesforce by 13.6% in the third quarter. Harvest Portfolios Group Inc. now owns 89,098 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $24,387,000 after buying an additional 10,656 shares during the period. Finally, XN LP lifted its stake in Salesforce by 24.2% in the second quarter. XN LP now owns 464,489 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $119,420,000 after buying an additional 90,616 shares during the last quarter. 80.43% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Salesforce

In related news, insider Miguel Milano sold 719 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $342.81, for a total value of $246,480.39. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 4,659 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,597,151.79. The trade was a 13.37 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 413 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $285.29, for a total value of $117,824.77. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 7,006 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,998,741.74. This trade represents a 5.57 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 144,510 shares of company stock worth $42,475,538 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

Salesforce Stock Up 0.5 %

Shares of NYSE:CRM traded up $1.64 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $340.75. 522,485 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,279,484. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a current ratio of 1.04. Salesforce, Inc. has a 52-week low of $212.00 and a 52-week high of $348.86. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $296.26 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $268.98. The company has a market capitalization of $325.76 billion, a PE ratio of 58.98, a P/E/G ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 1.29.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 28th. The CRM provider reported $2.56 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.36 by $0.20. The firm had revenue of $9.33 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.22 billion. Salesforce had a return on equity of 12.01% and a net margin of 15.44%. The firm’s revenue was up 8.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.63 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 8th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, September 18th were given a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.47%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, September 18th. Salesforce’s payout ratio is 27.83%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently commented on CRM. TD Cowen upped their price target on shares of Salesforce from $290.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. Northland Capmk upgraded shares of Salesforce from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on Salesforce from $305.00 to $385.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, November 15th. Canaccord Genuity Group increased their price objective on Salesforce from $300.00 to $315.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Finally, Evercore ISI reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $300.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Monday, August 26th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-eight have assigned 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 an average target price of $339.66.

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.