Deerfield Management Company L.P. Series C Invests $409,000 in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Deerfield Management Company L.P. Series C acquired a new stake in shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 1,589 shares of the CRM provider’s stock, valued at approximately $409,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 186.7% during the first quarter. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. now owns 86 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 56 shares during the last quarter. Piscataqua Savings Bank boosted its stake in Salesforce by 2,400.0% in the 2nd quarter. Piscataqua Savings Bank now owns 100 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 96 shares during the last quarter. Clear Investment Research LLC increased its stake in shares of Salesforce by 816.7% during the 2nd quarter. Clear Investment Research LLC now owns 110 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 98 shares during the last quarter. Red Tortoise LLC purchased a new position in shares of Salesforce during the 1st quarter worth about $33,000. Finally, Stephens Consulting LLC boosted its position in shares of Salesforce by 3,125.0% in the second quarter. Stephens Consulting LLC now owns 129 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 125 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.43% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently commented on CRM shares. Raymond James upped their price target on shares of Salesforce from $325.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. Loop Capital reissued a “hold” rating and set a $270.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on Salesforce from $295.00 to $315.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Oppenheimer lifted their price objective on Salesforce from $280.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. Finally, Wedbush increased their target price on shares of Salesforce from $315.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-seven have given a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Salesforce currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $308.03.

Salesforce Trading Up 0.3 %

NYSE CRM opened at $276.51 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $267.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 49.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.39 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, Inc. has a 12 month low of $193.68 and a 12 month high of $318.71. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $256.26 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $265.59.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 28th. The CRM provider reported $2.56 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.36 by $0.20. Salesforce had a return on equity of 12.01% and a net margin of 15.44%. The business had revenue of $9.33 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.22 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.63 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.58%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, September 18th. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio is currently 28.78%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 413 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $255.78, for a total value of $105,637.14. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 6,431 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,644,921.18. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In related news, insider Parker Harris sold 4,200 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $256.24, for a total transaction of $1,076,208.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 116,693 shares in the company, valued at approximately $29,901,414.32. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 413 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $255.78, for a total value of $105,637.14. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 6,431 shares in the company, valued at $1,644,921.18. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 72,185 shares of company stock worth $18,708,571 over the last ninety days. 3.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.