Shariaportfolio Inc. Boosts Stake in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Shariaportfolio Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 16.6% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 4,316 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 616 shares during the period. Salesforce comprises 0.6% of Shariaportfolio Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 23rd largest holding. Shariaportfolio Inc.’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $1,110,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Capital International Investors grew its holdings in Salesforce by 76.4% during the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 13,708,615 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $3,607,493,000 after acquiring an additional 5,935,973 shares in the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors grew its stake in shares of Salesforce by 26.9% during the first quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 14,376,536 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $4,329,925,000 after acquiring an additional 3,044,611 shares during the last quarter. GQG Partners LLC acquired a new position in Salesforce during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $910,220,000. Swedbank AB purchased a new position in Salesforce in the 1st quarter worth $874,748,000. Finally, Coatue Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Salesforce during the fourth quarter worth about $564,188,000. 80.43% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Salesforce

In related news, insider Srinivas Tallapragada sold 942 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $242.32, for a total transaction of $228,265.44. Following the sale, the insider now owns 22,154 shares in the company, valued at $5,368,357.28. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other Salesforce 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 value of $228,265.44. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 22,154 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,368,357.28. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 413 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $255.78, for a total value of $105,637.14. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 6,431 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,644,921.18. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 62,376 shares of company stock valued at $15,878,005 over the last three months. Company insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently issued reports on CRM. Truist Financial restated a “buy” rating and set a $300.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Friday, August 30th. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $345.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a report on Friday, September 6th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on Salesforce from $300.00 to $320.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. Sanford C. Bernstein upped their price objective 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, Macquarie cut their target price on Salesforce from $330.00 to $275.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 31st. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-six have given a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $305.55.

Salesforce Stock Performance

CRM opened at $255.32 on Wednesday. Salesforce, Inc. has a 1 year low of $193.68 and a 1 year high of $318.71. The stock has a market cap of $247.41 billion, a PE ratio of 45.92, a P/E/G ratio of 2.26 and a beta of 1.29. The company has a current ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $253.61 and its 200-day simple moving average is $267.11.

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 return on equity of 12.01% and a net margin of 15.44%. The firm had revenue of $9.33 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.22 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.63 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.55 EPS for the current year.

Salesforce Dividend Announcement

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

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.