Epoch Investment Partners Inc. Acquires 111,020 Shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Epoch Investment Partners Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 20.0% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 665,019 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 111,020 shares during the quarter. Epoch Investment Partners Inc.’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $170,976,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Salesforce by 1.2% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 84,635,254 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $25,490,446,000 after buying an additional 1,008,841 shares during the last quarter. Capital World Investors increased its holdings in Salesforce by 2.4% in the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 19,561,325 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $5,147,402,000 after acquiring an additional 457,463 shares during the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Salesforce by 5.2% in the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 14,905,462 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $3,922,223,000 after buying an additional 736,986 shares in the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors boosted its stake in Salesforce by 26.9% during the first quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 14,376,536 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $4,329,925,000 after buying an additional 3,044,611 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Capital International Investors increased its stake in Salesforce by 3.0% in the 1st 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 during the last quarter. 80.43% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Salesforce Trading Up 0.3 %

Shares of NYSE CRM opened at $266.80 on Friday. Salesforce, Inc. has a 1-year low of $193.68 and a 1-year high of $318.71. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $254.14 and a 200 day moving average price of $266.44. The stock has a market capitalization of $258.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 47.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.26 and a beta of 1.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a current ratio of 1.04 and a quick ratio of 1.04.

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

Salesforce Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 8th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, September 18th will be given a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.60%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, September 18th. Salesforce’s payout ratio is presently 28.78%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 413 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $255.78, for a total transaction of $105,637.14. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 6,431 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,644,921.18. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In related news, insider Srinivas Tallapragada sold 942 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $242.32, for a total value of $228,265.44. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 22,154 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,368,357.28. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 413 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $255.78, for a total transaction of $105,637.14. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 6,431 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,644,921.18. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 66,576 shares of company stock worth $16,957,573. Insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently commented on CRM. Raymond James increased their target price on Salesforce from $325.00 to $350.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. Truist Financial reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $315.00 price objective (up from $300.00) on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Thursday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their target price on shares of Salesforce from $350.00 to $300.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 30th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Salesforce from $250.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. Finally, Roth Mkm reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $335.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Nine 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 company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Salesforce has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $306.00.

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.