Harmony Asset Management LLC Takes $339,000 Position in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Harmony Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 1,320 shares of the CRM provider’s stock, valued at approximately $339,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of CRM. Spartan Planning & Wealth Management boosted its position in shares of Salesforce by 66.3% in the 4th quarter. Spartan Planning & Wealth Management now owns 1,567 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $412,000 after purchasing an additional 625 shares during the period. Parnassus Investments LLC grew its position in shares of Salesforce by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC now owns 5,951,415 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $1,566,055,000 after acquiring an additional 18,397 shares during the last quarter. TD Asset Management Inc increased its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 32.6% in the 4th quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 789,525 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $207,756,000 after acquiring an additional 194,224 shares during the period. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC raised its position in Salesforce by 1.3% in the 4th quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC now owns 7,160 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $1,983,000 after purchasing an additional 95 shares during the last quarter. Finally, XN LP boosted its stake in Salesforce by 24.2% during the 2nd quarter. XN LP now owns 464,489 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $119,420,000 after purchasing an additional 90,616 shares during the period. 80.43% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Salesforce

In related news, insider Parker Harris sold 4,200 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $257.04, for a total transaction of $1,079,568.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 117,581 shares in the company, valued at approximately $30,223,020.24. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, insider Sabastian Niles sold 2,484 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $244.81, for a total transaction of $608,108.04. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 828 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $202,702.68. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Parker Harris sold 4,200 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $257.04, for a total transaction of $1,079,568.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 117,581 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $30,223,020.24. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 63,891 shares of company stock worth $16,306,944. Company insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CRM has been the subject of several recent research reports. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Salesforce from $250.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. Macquarie decreased their price target on Salesforce from $330.00 to $275.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 31st. Barclays cut their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $355.00 to $305.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 30th. Oppenheimer lifted their target price on shares of Salesforce from $280.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Finally, Bank of America reissued a “buy” rating and set a $325.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a report on Friday, September 6th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-six have assigned a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Salesforce presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $306.00.

Salesforce Price Performance

CRM opened at $266.80 on Monday. Salesforce, Inc. has a 1 year low of $193.68 and a 1 year high of $318.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a current ratio of 1.04. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $254.14 and its 200 day simple moving average is $266.18. The stock has a market capitalization of $258.53 billion, a PE ratio of 47.99, a P/E/G ratio of 2.26 and a beta of 1.29.

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

Salesforce Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 8th. Investors 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 yield of 0.60%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, September 18th. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 28.78%.

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.