Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) is Vulcan Value Partners LLC’s 3rd Largest Position

Vulcan Value Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 76.1% during the second quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 1,476,111 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 637,710 shares during the quarter. Salesforce accounts for 5.7% of Vulcan Value Partners LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 3rd largest holding. Vulcan Value Partners LLC’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $379,469,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in CRM. Gilbert & Cook Inc. lifted its position in shares of Salesforce by 6.9% during the fourth quarter. Gilbert & Cook Inc. now owns 5,659 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $1,489,000 after acquiring an additional 366 shares in the last quarter. Aveo Capital Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Salesforce by 44.7% during the 4th quarter. Aveo Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,605 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $422,000 after purchasing an additional 496 shares in the last quarter. 9258 Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in Salesforce by 24.0% in the 4th quarter. 9258 Wealth Management LLC now owns 6,483 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $1,706,000 after purchasing an additional 1,253 shares during the period. Gryphon Financial Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Salesforce by 32.4% during the fourth quarter. Gryphon Financial Partners LLC now owns 3,960 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $1,064,000 after buying an additional 970 shares during the period. Finally, Evoke Wealth LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 2.1% in the fourth quarter. Evoke Wealth LLC now owns 3,795 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $999,000 after buying an additional 79 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.43% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently weighed in on CRM. Loop Capital reaffirmed a “hold” rating and set a $270.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a report on Thursday, September 19th. Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of Salesforce from $260.00 to $290.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, August 26th. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating and set a $345.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Friday, September 20th. UBS Group upped their target price on Salesforce from $250.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. Finally, Evercore ISI reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $300.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Monday, August 26th. Eight investment 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 company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $308.03.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Amy E. Weaver sold 897 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $255.78, for a total transaction of $229,434.66. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 51,109 shares in the company, valued at $13,072,660.02. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other news, Director Maynard G. Webb, Jr. sold 9,170 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $276.32, for a total value of $2,533,854.40. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 1,363 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $376,624.16. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Amy E. Weaver sold 897 shares of the business’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 $229,434.66. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 51,109 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,072,660.02. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 72,185 shares of company stock valued at $18,708,571 over the last quarter. 3.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Salesforce Price Performance

Shares of Salesforce stock opened at $276.51 on Friday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $256.26 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $265.59. Salesforce, Inc. has a 12-month low of $193.68 and a 12-month high of $318.71. The firm has a market cap of $267.94 billion, a PE ratio of 49.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 1.29. The company has a quick ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15.

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

Salesforce Dividend Announcement

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 issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, September 18th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.58%. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio 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.