GS Investments Inc. Has $3.29 Million Position in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

GS Investments Inc. lifted its holdings in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 73.3% in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 12,034 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after buying an additional 5,088 shares during the quarter. Salesforce comprises 1.5% of GS Investments Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 28th biggest holding. GS Investments Inc.’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $3,294,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in CRM. Aviance Capital Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Salesforce by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. Aviance Capital Partners LLC now owns 6,797 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $1,860,000 after acquiring an additional 33 shares during the last quarter. Umpqua Bank increased its stake in Salesforce by 0.4% in the third quarter. Umpqua Bank now owns 7,708 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $2,110,000 after purchasing an additional 34 shares in the last quarter. Nvwm LLC increased its stake in Salesforce by 1.4% in the third quarter. Nvwm LLC now owns 2,565 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $667,000 after purchasing an additional 36 shares in the last quarter. Prentice Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in Salesforce by 1.5% in the third quarter. Prentice Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,506 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $686,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares during the period. Finally, Private Wealth Management Group LLC boosted its position in shares of Salesforce by 11.6% during the third quarter. Private Wealth Management Group LLC now owns 357 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $98,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.43% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have issued reports on CRM. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $345.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Friday, September 20th. Piper Sandler lowered Salesforce from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Salesforce from $275.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $300.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a report on Thursday, September 19th. Finally, Oppenheimer reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $330.00 price objective (up previously from $300.00) on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-eight have assigned a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $326.19.

Insider Buying and Selling at Salesforce

In related news, CFO Amy E. Weaver sold 897 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $285.29, for a total value of $255,905.13. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 52,930 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $15,100,399.70. This trade represents a 1.67 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 413 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $285.29, for a total value of $117,824.77. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 7,006 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,998,741.74. The trade was a 5.57 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 136,117 shares of company stock valued at $39,085,562 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

Salesforce Price Performance

Salesforce stock opened at $325.70 on Thursday. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $291.21 and its 200-day moving average is $267.72. The company has a market capitalization of $311.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 56.64, a PEG ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 1.29. Salesforce, Inc. has a 12 month low of $212.00 and a 12 month high of $348.86. 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 (NYSE:CRM) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 28th. The CRM provider reported $2.56 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.36 by $0.20. The business had revenue of $9.33 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.22 billion. Salesforce had a net margin of 15.44% and a return on equity of 12.01%. Salesforce’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.63 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.55 EPS for the current year.

Salesforce Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 8th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, September 18th were paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, September 18th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.49%. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 27.83%.

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.