Smith Anglin Financial LLC Acquires 868 Shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Smith Anglin Financial LLC lifted its holdings in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 108.4% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,669 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 868 shares during the quarter. Smith Anglin Financial LLC’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $448,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Athena Investment Management purchased a new stake in Salesforce during the fourth quarter valued at about $236,000. Jag Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Salesforce by 2,507.9% in the 4th quarter. Jag Capital Management LLC now owns 23,706 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $7,926,000 after acquiring an additional 22,797 shares during the last quarter. Lecap Asset Management Ltd. purchased a new stake in Salesforce during the 4th quarter valued at about $2,861,000. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp grew its position in Salesforce by 2.7% during the 4th quarter. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp now owns 27,358 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $9,146,000 after acquiring an additional 723 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dash Acquisitions Inc. increased its stake in Salesforce by 2.6% in the 4th quarter. Dash Acquisitions Inc. now owns 60,521 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $21,785,000 after purchasing an additional 1,525 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.43% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 1,909 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $284.58, for a total transaction of $543,263.22. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 11,310 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,218,599.80. This represents a 14.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Amy E. Weaver sold 6,221 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $277.37, for a total value of $1,725,518.77. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 46,750 shares in the company, valued at $12,967,047.50. The trade was a 11.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 40,332 shares of company stock valued at $11,024,802 over the last ninety days. 3.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Salesforce Stock Performance

Shares of Salesforce stock opened at $261.28 on Tuesday. Salesforce, Inc. has a 1 year low of $227.77 and a 1 year high of $369.00. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $266.92 and its 200 day moving average is $303.86. The stock has a market cap of $251.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.97, a PEG ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 1.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 1.11.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, May 28th. The CRM provider reported $2.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.55 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $9.83 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.74 billion. Salesforce had a net margin of 15.96% and a return on equity of 12.34%. The business’s revenue was up 7.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.44 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.46 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 24th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 10th were paid a $0.42 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 10th. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.64%. This is a boost from Salesforce’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. Salesforce’s payout ratio is currently 25.98%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on CRM shares. Citigroup cut their target price on shares of Salesforce from $320.00 to $295.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday. Sanford C. Bernstein increased their price target on shares of Salesforce from $243.00 to $255.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 29th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $340.00 to $385.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 29th. Scotiabank dropped their target price on shares of Salesforce from $400.00 to $345.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, March 17th. Finally, Piper Sandler raised their target price on Salesforce from $315.00 to $335.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 28th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, twenty-eight have given a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $343.32.

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.