Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd Takes $6.07 Million Position in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd purchased a new stake in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 18,155 shares of the CRM provider’s stock, valued at approximately $6,070,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CRM. World Equity Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Salesforce in the 4th quarter worth approximately $426,000. Delap Wealth Advisory LLC boosted its stake in Salesforce by 2.7% in the fourth quarter. Delap Wealth Advisory LLC now owns 1,336 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $447,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. Howard Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in Salesforce by 9.5% in the fourth quarter. Howard Capital Management Inc. now owns 6,290 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $2,103,000 after purchasing an additional 548 shares in the last quarter. Valliance Asset Management Ltd acquired a new position in Salesforce in the fourth quarter worth $2,006,000. Finally, Wealthspire Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Salesforce by 4.4% in the fourth quarter. Wealthspire Advisors LLC now owns 7,898 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $2,641,000 after purchasing an additional 332 shares in the last quarter. 80.43% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Salesforce from $415.00 to $425.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. BMO Capital Markets reduced their target price on shares of Salesforce from $425.00 to $375.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday. Piper Sandler set a $405.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Scotiabank upped their price objective on Salesforce from $425.00 to $440.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Salesforce from $340.00 to $380.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, thirty-two have assigned a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $375.53.

Insider Buying and Selling at Salesforce

In other Salesforce news, CFO Amy E. Weaver sold 6,221 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $343.00, for a total transaction of $2,133,803.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 53,861 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $18,474,323. The trade was a 10.35 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Marc Benioff sold 317,105 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $346.78, for a total transaction of $109,965,671.90. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 12,162,457 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,217,696,838.46. The trade was 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 have sold 1,102,114 shares of company stock worth $381,142,656. Insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

Salesforce Trading Down 2.8 %

Shares of NYSE:CRM opened at $309.54 on Monday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $333.34 and its 200 day simple moving average is $306.18. Salesforce, Inc. has a 12 month low of $212.00 and a 12 month high of $369.00. The firm has a market cap of $296.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 50.91, a PEG ratio of 2.58 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 (NYSE:CRM) last announced its earnings results 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 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 analyst estimates of $9.35 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.62 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts forecast that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.46 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 9th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, December 18th were paid a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, December 18th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.52%. Salesforce’s payout ratio is currently 26.32%.

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.