Unisphere Establishment Raises Stock Holdings in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Unisphere Establishment grew its holdings in shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 13.9% in the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 559,000 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 68,250 shares during the period. Salesforce accounts for 1.4% of Unisphere Establishment’s portfolio, making the stock its 21st biggest position. Unisphere Establishment’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $143,719,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on CRM shares. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on Salesforce from $265.00 to $305.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. Evercore ISI reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $300.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a report on Monday, August 26th. BNP Paribas raised shares of Salesforce to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $345.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Friday, September 20th. Finally, FBN Securities upgraded Salesforce to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-seven have issued a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $307.73.

Insider Activity at Salesforce

In other Salesforce news, COO Brian Millham sold 5,735 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $266.22, for a total transaction of $1,526,771.70. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 1,663 shares in the company, valued at approximately $442,723.86. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other news, COO Brian Millham sold 5,735 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $266.22, for a total transaction of $1,526,771.70. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 1,663 shares in the company, valued at $442,723.86. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Parker Harris sold 5,600 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $250.17, for a total transaction of $1,400,952.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 116,693 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $29,193,087.81. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 70,633 shares of company stock worth $18,100,349 in the last quarter. 3.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Salesforce Stock Performance

NYSE:CRM opened at $270.44 on Wednesday. The company has a 50-day moving average of $254.66 and a 200-day moving average of $265.66. The firm has a market cap of $258.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 48.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 1.29. The company has a current ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. Salesforce, Inc. has a twelve month low of $193.68 and a twelve month high of $318.71.

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

Salesforce Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 8th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, September 18th will be issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.59%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, September 18th. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio is 28.78%.

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.