Versant Capital Management Inc Boosts Stake in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Versant Capital Management Inc grew its holdings in shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 42.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,483 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 441 shares during the period. Versant Capital Management Inc’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $496,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Veritas Asset Management LLP purchased a new position in shares of Salesforce during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $733,805,000. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its stake in Salesforce by 48.3% during the 2nd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 5,906,877 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $1,518,658,000 after acquiring an additional 1,922,674 shares during the last quarter. KBC Group NV grew its holdings in Salesforce by 171.2% during the 3rd quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,634,834 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $447,470,000 after acquiring an additional 1,032,068 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in Salesforce by 23,664.2% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,002,848 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $274,490,000 after acquiring an additional 998,628 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Farallon Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Salesforce by 51.0% in the 2nd quarter. Farallon Capital Management LLC now owns 2,946,838 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $757,632,000 after purchasing an additional 994,670 shares during the last quarter. 80.43% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Salesforce Stock Performance

Shares of CRM opened at $330.66 on Friday. Salesforce, Inc. has a 12-month low of $212.00 and a 12-month high of $369.00. The stock has a market capitalization of $316.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 54.38, a P/E/G ratio of 3.21 and a beta of 1.30. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $331.09 and its 200-day moving average is $285.02. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 1.11.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, December 3rd. The CRM provider reported $2.41 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.44 by ($0.03). The company had revenue of $9.44 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.35 billion. Salesforce had a net margin of 15.96% and a return on equity of 12.34%. Salesforce’s quarterly revenue was up 8.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.62 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 9th. Investors of record on Wednesday, December 18th will be paid a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, December 18th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.48%. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio is currently 26.32%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the company. Guggenheim reiterated a “neutral” rating on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Cfra set a $343.00 target price on Salesforce in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. KeyCorp upgraded Salesforce from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $440.00 price target for the company in a report on Friday, December 13th. Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and set a $375.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Finally, JMP Securities reiterated a “market outperform” rating and set a $450.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have issued a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Salesforce has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $378.86.

Insider Buying and Selling at Salesforce

In other news, Director G Mason Morfit sold 722,300 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $346.11, for a total value of $249,995,253.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 3,192,009 shares in the company, valued at $1,104,786,234.99. This represents a 18.45 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Marc Benioff sold 317,105 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $346.78, for a total value of $109,965,671.90. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 12,162,457 shares in the company, valued at $4,217,696,838.46. This represents a 2.54 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 1,186,017 shares of company stock valued at $405,971,793. 3.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Salesforce Profile

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.