Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC Raises Stake in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 3.5% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 625,205 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 21,220 shares during the period. Salesforce makes up approximately 1.1% of Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 15th largest position. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $167,285,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Piscataqua Savings Bank raised its stake in shares of Salesforce by 2,400.0% during the 2nd quarter. Piscataqua Savings Bank now owns 100 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 96 shares during the last quarter. Infrastructure Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Salesforce during the 3rd quarter worth $27,000. Clear Investment Research LLC raised its stake in shares of Salesforce by 816.7% during the 2nd quarter. Clear Investment Research LLC now owns 110 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 98 shares during the last quarter. Godsey & Gibb Inc. raised its stake in shares of Salesforce by 300.0% during the 3rd quarter. Godsey & Gibb Inc. now owns 120 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 90 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL acquired a new position in shares of Salesforce during the 2nd quarter worth $33,000. 80.43% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Salesforce

In other Salesforce news, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 413 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $285.29, for a total value of $117,824.77. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 7,006 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,998,741.74. This trade represents a 5.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Amy E. Weaver sold 897 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $285.29, for a total value of $255,905.13. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 52,930 shares in the company, valued at $15,100,399.70. This represents a 1.67 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 140,982 shares of company stock valued at $41,591,457. Corporate insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CRM has been the subject of several analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on shares of Salesforce from $360.00 to $400.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday. FBN Securities raised shares of Salesforce to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. Loop Capital boosted their target price on shares of Salesforce from $340.00 to $360.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday. TD Cowen boosted their target price on shares of Salesforce from $290.00 to $340.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on shares of Salesforce from $400.00 to $425.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have given a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Salesforce currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $372.86.

Salesforce Stock Performance

Shares of CRM opened at $361.14 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. The firm has a market cap of $345.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 59.40, a PEG ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 1.30. Salesforce, Inc. has a 52-week low of $212.00 and a 52-week high of $369.00. The business’s 50 day moving average is $308.26 and its two-hundred day moving average is $272.43.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, December 3rd. The CRM provider reported $2.41 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.44 by ($0.03). The firm had revenue of $9.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.35 billion. Salesforce had a net margin of 15.96% and a return on equity of 12.31%. The business’s revenue was up 8.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.62 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 9th. Investors of record on Wednesday, December 18th will be given a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.44%. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio is currently 26.32%.

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.