Magnus Financial Group LLC Boosts Stock Position in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Magnus Financial Group LLC boosted its position in shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 2.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 2,285 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 51 shares during the quarter. Magnus Financial Group LLC’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $764,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the business. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in Salesforce by 1.8% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 49,007,404 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $13,432,855,000 after purchasing an additional 864,193 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Salesforce by 1.3% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 19,780,318 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $5,395,132,000 after buying an additional 257,501 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its position in shares of Salesforce by 2.6% during the third quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 12,276,551 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $3,360,215,000 after buying an additional 314,530 shares in the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc increased its stake in shares of Salesforce by 2.2% during the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 8,329,687 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $2,141,562,000 after buying an additional 176,641 shares during the period. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its holdings in Salesforce by 1.0% in the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 5,964,702 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $1,632,599,000 after acquiring an additional 57,825 shares in the last quarter. 80.43% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $340.00 to $380.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on Salesforce from $385.00 to $425.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Northland Securities reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $440.00 price target (up from $400.00) on shares of Salesforce in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Northland Capmk upgraded Salesforce from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on Salesforce from $400.00 to $425.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, thirty-one have issued a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $377.63.

Insider Activity at Salesforce

In other news, CEO Marc Benioff sold 317,105 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $346.78, for a total value of $109,965,671.90. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 12,162,457 shares in the company, valued at $4,217,696,838.46. This represents a 2.54 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 500 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $290.23, for a total value of $145,115.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 6,506 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,888,236.38. This represents a 7.14 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 1,171,198 shares of company stock valued at $401,945,558. Insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

Salesforce Stock Up 1.8 %

Shares of NYSE CRM opened at $332.67 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $318.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 54.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 1.30. Salesforce, Inc. has a 52 week low of $212.00 and a 52 week high of $369.00. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $336.68 and a 200 day moving average price of $292.92. The company has a quick ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, December 3rd. The CRM provider reported $2.41 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 last year, the firm earned $1.62 EPS. Salesforce’s revenue was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 9th. Investors of record on Wednesday, December 18th were given a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, December 18th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.48%. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio is presently 26.32%.

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.