Chicago Capital LLC Has $66.68 Million Stake in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Chicago Capital LLC increased its holdings in shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 10.0% during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 259,356 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 23,578 shares during the quarter. Salesforce comprises 2.0% of Chicago Capital LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 14th biggest holding. Chicago Capital LLC’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $66,681,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. One Wealth Management Investment & Advisory Services LLC lifted its position in Salesforce by 1.7% during the second quarter. One Wealth Management Investment & Advisory Services LLC now owns 6,860 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $1,764,000 after acquiring an additional 114 shares during the last quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund lifted its holdings in Salesforce by 2.7% during the 2nd quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund now owns 48,516 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $12,473,000 after purchasing an additional 1,290 shares during the last quarter. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. boosted its stake in Salesforce by 22.7% in the 2nd quarter. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. now owns 81,561 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $20,969,000 after purchasing an additional 15,075 shares during the period. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC grew its holdings in Salesforce by 2.6% in the 2nd quarter. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC now owns 11,485 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $2,953,000 after buying an additional 296 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sustainable Insight Capital Management LLC increased its position in Salesforce by 28.6% during the 2nd quarter. Sustainable Insight Capital Management LLC now owns 899 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $231,000 after buying an additional 200 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 80.43% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently commented on the stock. Barclays decreased their price target on shares of Salesforce from $355.00 to $305.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. Citigroup increased their target price on shares of Salesforce from $260.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, August 26th. Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their price target on shares of Salesforce from $234.00 to $236.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their price target on Salesforce from $350.00 to $300.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 30th. Finally, Roth Mkm reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $335.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-seven have given a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $304.41.

Salesforce Trading Down 0.9 %

Shares of NYSE:CRM traded down $2.15 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $243.97. 6,259,431 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,604,331. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a current ratio of 1.04. Salesforce, Inc. has a twelve month low of $193.68 and a twelve month high of $318.71. The firm has a market capitalization of $236.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 43.89, a PEG ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 1.29. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $254.52 and its 200-day moving average price is $269.79.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, August 28th. The CRM provider reported $2.56 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.36 by $0.20. The firm had revenue of $9.33 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.22 billion. Salesforce had a return on equity of 12.01% and a net margin of 15.44%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.63 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.52 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 8th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, September 18th will be given a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.66%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, September 18th. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio is presently 28.78%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Parker Harris sold 3,528 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $250.59, for a total transaction of $884,081.52. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 117,581 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $29,464,622.79. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other Salesforce news, CEO Marc Benioff sold 15,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $241.74, for a total value of $3,626,100.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 12,162,457 shares in the company, valued at $2,940,152,355.18. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Parker Harris sold 3,528 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $250.59, for a total transaction of $884,081.52. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 117,581 shares in the company, valued at approximately $29,464,622.79. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 83,692 shares of company stock worth $21,006,957. 3.20% of the stock is currently 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.