Generate Investment Management Ltd Buys 72 Shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Generate Investment Management Ltd increased its stake in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 0.1% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 72,816 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 72 shares during the period. Salesforce makes up about 1.7% of Generate Investment Management Ltd’s portfolio, making the stock its 18th biggest position. Generate Investment Management Ltd’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $24,345,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. State Street Corp boosted its position in Salesforce by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 49,007,404 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $13,432,855,000 after buying an additional 864,193 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Salesforce by 1.3% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 19,780,318 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $5,395,132,000 after acquiring an additional 257,501 shares during the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 2.6% during the third quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 12,276,551 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $3,360,215,000 after purchasing an additional 314,530 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its stake in shares of Salesforce by 1.0% in the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 5,964,702 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $1,632,599,000 after purchasing an additional 57,825 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in Salesforce by 1.7% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 5,912,854 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $1,618,407,000 after purchasing an additional 96,381 shares during the period. 80.43% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Salesforce

In other news, CFO Amy E. Weaver sold 6,221 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $329.88, for a total transaction of $2,052,183.48. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 45,861 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,128,626.68. This represents a 11.94 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, COO Brian Millham sold 14,808 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $338.95, for a total value of $5,019,171.60. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 1,111,420 shares of company stock worth $384,366,700. Insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

Salesforce Stock Performance

NYSE CRM opened at $330.52 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $316.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 54.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 1.31. The company has a quick ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. Salesforce, Inc. has a twelve month low of $212.00 and a twelve month high of $369.00. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $339.05 and a 200-day moving average price of $299.87.

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

Salesforce Dividend Announcement

The company 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 0.48%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, December 18th. Salesforce’s payout ratio is 26.32%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on Salesforce from $340.00 to $430.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. KeyCorp raised shares of Salesforce from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $440.00 target price for the company in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Barclays boosted their price target 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. Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and issued a $400.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a report on Thursday. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on Salesforce from $385.00 to $425.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, thirty-one have issued a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $377.63.

Salesforce 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.