Golden State Equity Partners Makes New $5.69 Million Investment in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Golden State Equity Partners acquired a new position in shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 22,138 shares of the CRM provider’s stock, valued at approximately $5,692,000. Salesforce accounts for approximately 1.2% of Golden State Equity Partners’ holdings, making the stock its 11th largest holding.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Salesforce in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $2,762,331,000. Capital International Investors boosted its position in Salesforce by 76.4% during the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 13,708,615 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $3,607,493,000 after purchasing an additional 5,935,973 shares during the period. Capital Research Global Investors boosted its position in 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 purchasing an additional 3,044,611 shares during the period. GQG Partners LLC bought a new stake in Salesforce during the first quarter worth approximately $910,220,000. Finally, Swedbank AB bought a new stake in Salesforce during the first quarter worth approximately $874,748,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.43% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CRM has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. TD Cowen upped their target price on Salesforce from $285.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $345.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Thursday. DA Davidson upped their target price on Salesforce from $230.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Salesforce from $320.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Citigroup upped their price target on Salesforce from $260.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-seven have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $302.00.

Insider Transactions at Salesforce

In other Salesforce news, Director G Mason Morfit bought 428,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 3rd. The shares were bought at an average price of $233.17 per share, for a total transaction of $99,796,760.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 3,914,309 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $912,699,429.53. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, insider Parker Harris sold 2,800 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $235.99, for a total transaction of $660,772.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 115,762 shares in the company, valued at $27,318,674.38. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director G Mason Morfit bought 428,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 3rd. The shares were acquired at an average price of $233.17 per share, for a total transaction of $99,796,760.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 3,914,309 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $912,699,429.53. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 112,964 shares of company stock worth $27,956,647. Insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

Salesforce Price Performance

NYSE:CRM traded down $4.11 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $252.90. The company had a trading volume of 10,391,372 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,635,113. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $254.28 and a two-hundred day moving average of $271.44. Salesforce, Inc. has a one year low of $193.68 and a one year high of $318.71. The firm has a market capitalization of $245.06 billion, a PE ratio of 45.49, a PEG ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 1.29. 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 Wednesday, August 28th. The CRM provider reported $2.56 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.36 by $0.20. Salesforce had a return on equity of 11.57% and a net margin of 15.30%. The firm had revenue of $9.33 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.22 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.63 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.47 earnings per share for the current year.

Salesforce Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 25th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, July 9th were issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.63%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, July 9th. Salesforce’s payout ratio is presently 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.