Sanctuary Advisors LLC Invests $42.80 Million in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Sanctuary Advisors LLC bought a new position in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund bought 156,040 shares of the CRM provider’s stock, valued at approximately $42,800,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Coronation Fund Managers Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Salesforce by 22.3% during the 2nd quarter. Coronation Fund Managers Ltd. now owns 82,585 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $21,233,000 after acquiring an additional 15,067 shares during the period. Clear Rock Advisors LLC bought a new position in Salesforce in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $3,076,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL bought a new position in shares of Salesforce during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Souders Financial Advisors boosted its position in shares of Salesforce by 435.0% during the 2nd quarter. Souders Financial Advisors now owns 4,018 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $1,033,000 after acquiring an additional 3,267 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Clearbridge Investments LLC raised its holdings in Salesforce by 9.3% during the 2nd quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 3,428,934 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $881,579,000 after buying an additional 292,912 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.43% of the company’s stock.

Salesforce Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE CRM opened at $270.87 on Wednesday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $256.95 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $264.65. 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 firm has a market cap of $262.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 48.72, a PEG ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 1.29. Salesforce, Inc. has a 1 year low of $193.68 and a 1 year high of $318.71.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 28th. The CRM provider reported $2.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 firm had revenue of $9.33 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.22 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.63 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 8.5% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Announces Dividend

The firm 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 $0.40 dividend. 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 0.59%. Salesforce’s payout ratio is currently 28.78%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Maynard G. Webb, Jr. sold 9,170 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the director now directly owns 1,363 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $376,624.16. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 413 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $255.78, for a total value of $105,637.14. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 6,431 shares in the company, valued at $1,644,921.18. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Maynard G. Webb, Jr. sold 9,170 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $276.32, for a total transaction of $2,533,854.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 1,363 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $376,624.16. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 67,985 shares of company stock worth $17,632,363 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have weighed in on CRM shares. Roth Mkm reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $335.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. Loop Capital reissued a “hold” rating and issued a $270.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a report on Thursday, September 19th. Phillip Securities restated an “accumulate” rating and issued a $305.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Friday, August 30th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Salesforce from $320.00 to $330.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. Finally, TD Cowen upped their target price on Salesforce from $285.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-seven have assigned a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $308.03.

Salesforce Company 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.