Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) Holdings Boosted by E Fund Management Co. Ltd.

E Fund Management Co. Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 3.6% during the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 15,838 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after buying an additional 551 shares during the quarter. E Fund Management Co. Ltd.’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $4,072,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Bradley Foster & Sargent Inc. CT grew its position in Salesforce by 35.7% during the 2nd quarter. Bradley Foster & Sargent Inc. CT now owns 54,153 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $13,923,000 after purchasing an additional 14,239 shares in the last quarter. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC grew its position in Salesforce by 44.0% during the 2nd quarter. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC now owns 20,091 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $5,166,000 after purchasing an additional 6,137 shares in the last quarter. Perennial Investment Advisors LLC grew its position in Salesforce by 3.2% during the 2nd quarter. Perennial Investment Advisors LLC now owns 3,761 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $967,000 after purchasing an additional 117 shares in the last quarter. EPIQ Capital Group LLC grew its position in Salesforce by 7.8% during the 2nd quarter. EPIQ Capital Group LLC now owns 3,034 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $780,000 after purchasing an additional 219 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Conscious Wealth Investments LLC grew its position in Salesforce by 0.8% during the 2nd quarter. Conscious Wealth Investments LLC now owns 9,992 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $2,558,000 after purchasing an additional 81 shares in the last quarter. 80.43% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on CRM shares. BNP Paribas raised shares of Salesforce to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Salesforce from $320.00 to $330.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. Oppenheimer lifted their target price on shares of Salesforce from $280.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their target price on shares of Salesforce from $234.00 to $236.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. Finally, JMP Securities reissued a “market outperform” rating and set a $342.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Wednesday, August 28th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-six have issued a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Salesforce has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $305.55.

Insider Transactions at Salesforce

In other news, insider Srinivas Tallapragada sold 942 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $242.32, for a total transaction of $228,265.44. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 22,154 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,368,357.28. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, CFO Amy E. Weaver sold 897 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $255.78, for a total value of $229,434.66. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 51,109 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,072,660.02. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Srinivas Tallapragada sold 942 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $242.32, for a total transaction of $228,265.44. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 22,154 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,368,357.28. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 62,376 shares of company stock worth $15,878,005. 3.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Salesforce Stock Performance

NYSE:CRM opened at $255.32 on Wednesday. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $253.61 and its 200-day moving average is $267.11. Salesforce, Inc. has a 52-week low of $193.68 and a 52-week high of $318.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a current ratio of 1.04. The company has a market cap of $247.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 45.92, a PEG ratio of 2.26 and a beta of 1.29.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 28th. The CRM provider reported $2.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.36 by $0.20. Salesforce had a net margin of 15.44% and a return on equity of 12.01%. The company had revenue of $9.33 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.22 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.63 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Salesforce Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 8th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, September 18th will be issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, September 18th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.63%. Salesforce’s payout ratio is 28.78%.

Salesforce 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.