Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. Buys 92,235 Shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. increased its position in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 7,486.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 93,467 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 92,235 shares during the quarter. Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd.’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $31,277,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. CX Institutional lifted its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 3.9% in the 4th quarter. CX Institutional now owns 5,858 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $1,959,000 after buying an additional 221 shares during the period. Zweig DiMenna Associates LLC lifted its stake in Salesforce by 59.2% in the fourth quarter. Zweig DiMenna Associates LLC now owns 39,800 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $13,306,000 after acquiring an additional 14,800 shares during the period. Berbice Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Salesforce during the 4th quarter worth about $729,000. LexAurum Advisors LLC increased its position in Salesforce by 33.8% during the 4th quarter. LexAurum Advisors LLC now owns 1,068 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $357,000 after purchasing an additional 270 shares during the period. Finally, RFG Advisory LLC raised its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 13.1% in the 4th quarter. RFG Advisory LLC now owns 12,151 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $4,062,000 after purchasing an additional 1,405 shares in the last quarter. 80.43% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Salesforce Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE CRM opened at $333.47 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $319.13 billion, a PE ratio of 54.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.01 and a beta of 1.30. 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 company’s fifty day moving average price is $336.56 and its 200 day moving average price is $293.49. Salesforce, Inc. has a 1 year low of $212.00 and a 1 year high of $369.00.

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

Salesforce Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 9th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, December 18th were given a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, December 18th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.48%. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 26.32%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CRM has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Cfra set a $343.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Loop Capital boosted their price target on Salesforce from $340.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on Salesforce from $385.00 to $425.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on shares of Salesforce from $390.00 to $425.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Macquarie restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $370.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, thirty-one have issued a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $377.63.

Insider Activity at Salesforce

In other Salesforce news, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, November 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $290.23, for a total transaction of $145,115.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 6,506 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,888,236.38. This trade represents a 7.14 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Amy E. Weaver sold 897 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $332.28, for a total transaction of $298,055.16. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 46,750 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $15,534,090. This represents a 1.88 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 1,173,891 shares of company stock valued at $402,840,388. 3.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.