Sherman Asset Management Inc. Takes Position in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Sherman Asset Management Inc. purchased a new position in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 333 shares of the CRM provider’s stock, valued at approximately $111,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Athena Investment Management purchased a new stake in Salesforce in the fourth quarter worth $236,000. Onefund LLC grew its stake in Salesforce by 3.3% in the fourth quarter. Onefund LLC now owns 2,630 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $879,000 after purchasing an additional 84 shares during the period. Noble Wealth Management PBC purchased a new stake in Salesforce in the fourth quarter worth $73,000. US Bancorp DE grew its stake in Salesforce by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 479,272 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $160,235,000 after purchasing an additional 7,587 shares during the period. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in Salesforce by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 12,453,872 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $4,163,703,000 after acquiring an additional 177,321 shares in the last quarter. 80.43% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have commented on CRM shares. Northland Securities reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $440.00 target price (up from $400.00) on shares of Salesforce in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on Salesforce from $345.00 to $310.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday. Macquarie dropped their target price on Salesforce from $370.00 to $320.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday. Citigroup reissued a “cautious” rating on shares of Salesforce in a report on Thursday. Finally, Guggenheim reaffirmed a “sell” rating and set a $247.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a report on Thursday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating, thirty-two have assigned a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $365.32.

Insider Buying and Selling at Salesforce

In other Salesforce news, insider Miguel Milano sold 458 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $307.97, for a total transaction of $141,050.26. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 5,864 shares in the company, valued at $1,805,936.08. This trade represents a 7.24 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 436 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $332.28, for a total value of $144,874.08. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 7,057 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,344,899.96. This represents a 5.82 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 1,102,572 shares of company stock worth $381,283,706 in the last quarter. 3.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Salesforce Stock Performance

NYSE:CRM opened at $297.63 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. Salesforce, Inc. has a 12-month low of $212.00 and a 12-month high of $369.00. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $329.11 and a 200 day moving average price of $307.58. The stock has a market capitalization of $284.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 48.95, a P/E/G ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 1.31.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last released 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). The firm had revenue of $9.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.35 billion. Salesforce had a net margin of 15.96% and a return on equity of 12.34%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.62 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.46 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 9th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, December 18th were issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.54%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, December 18th. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio is presently 25.16%.

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.