Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. Boosts Holdings in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. grew its stake in shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 11.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 107,061 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 11,104 shares during the quarter. Salesforce comprises approximately 0.7% of Crossmark Global Holdings Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 23rd largest holding. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc.’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $35,794,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in CRM. Veritas Asset Management LLP acquired a new position in shares of Salesforce in the 3rd quarter valued at about $733,805,000. KBC Group NV grew its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 1,032,068 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of 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 valued at $274,490,000 after purchasing an additional 998,628 shares in the last quarter. Farallon Capital Management LLC lifted its stake 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 valued at $757,632,000 after purchasing an additional 994,670 shares during the period. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its position in Salesforce by 25.1% during the second quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 4,378,826 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $1,125,331,000 after buying an additional 877,495 shares during the period. 80.43% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Salesforce

In other Salesforce news, CFO Amy E. Weaver sold 897 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $285.29, for a total transaction of $255,905.13. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 52,930 shares in the company, valued at $15,100,399.70. This represents a 1.67 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director G Mason Morfit sold 722,300 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $346.11, for a total transaction of $249,995,253.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 3,192,009 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,104,786,234.99. This trade represents a 18.45 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 1,173,477 shares of company stock worth $402,596,964 over the last quarter. 3.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Salesforce Stock Up 1.5 %

CRM opened at $324.77 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a current ratio of 1.11. The business’s fifty day moving average is $337.31 and its two-hundred day moving average is $292.02. Salesforce, Inc. has a one year low of $212.00 and a one year high of $369.00. The company has a market cap of $310.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 53.42, a PEG ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 1.30.

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

Salesforce Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 9th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, December 18th were issued a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, December 18th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.49%. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 26.32%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CRM has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on Salesforce from $390.00 to $425.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. DA Davidson increased their target price on Salesforce from $250.00 to $300.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Needham & Company LLC upped their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $375.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. JMP Securities reissued a “market outperform” rating and set a $450.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of Salesforce from $330.00 to $405.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, thirty-one have given a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Salesforce currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $377.63.

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.