Lynx Investment Advisory Invests $40,000 in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Lynx Investment Advisory purchased a new stake in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund purchased 156 shares of the CRM provider’s stock, valued at approximately $40,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 1.2% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 84,635,254 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $25,490,446,000 after purchasing an additional 1,008,841 shares in the last quarter. Capital World Investors raised its holdings in Salesforce by 2.4% during the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 19,561,325 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $5,147,402,000 after buying an additional 457,463 shares in the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Salesforce by 5.3% in the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 14,921,042 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $3,926,323,000 after buying an additional 752,566 shares during the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors boosted its stake in shares of Salesforce by 26.9% during the 1st 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Capital International Investors raised its stake in shares of Salesforce by 3.0% in the 1st quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 14,116,449 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $4,251,592,000 after acquiring an additional 407,834 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.43% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Marc Benioff sold 15,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $286.90, for a total value of $4,303,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 12,512,327 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,589,786,616.30. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, CEO Marc Benioff sold 15,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, May 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $286.90, for a total value of $4,303,500.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 12,512,327 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,589,786,616.30. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 413 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 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. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 245,042 shares of company stock worth $64,456,417. Corporate insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

Salesforce Trading Up 1.7 %

NYSE CRM traded up $4.02 on Wednesday, reaching $242.44. The company had a trading volume of 1,825,959 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,720,754. Salesforce, Inc. has a 52 week low of $193.68 and a 52 week high of $318.71. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $247.24 and its 200-day moving average is $274.42. The company has a quick ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. The stock has a market cap of $234.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 44.26, a PEG ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 1.29.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 29th. The CRM provider reported $2.44 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.38 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $9.13 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.15 billion. Salesforce had a return on equity of 11.57% and a net margin of 15.30%. Salesforce’s revenue was up 10.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.15 EPS. Equities analysts predict that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.47 earnings per share for the current year.

Salesforce Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 25th. Investors of record on Tuesday, July 9th were paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.66%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, July 9th. Salesforce’s payout ratio is presently 28.78%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on CRM shares. Sanford C. Bernstein upped their target price on Salesforce from $231.00 to $234.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 30th. JMP Securities reiterated a “market outperform” rating and issued a $342.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a report on Monday, April 15th. Wedbush decreased their price target on shares of Salesforce from $325.00 to $315.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, May 29th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on Salesforce from $300.00 to $250.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and set a $345.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating, twenty-five have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $292.79.

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.