Compound Global Advisors LLC Acquires New Position in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Compound Global Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 1,800 shares of the CRM provider’s stock, valued at approximately $602,000. Salesforce comprises approximately 2.4% of Compound Global Advisors LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 16th largest position.

A number of other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of CRM. Veritas Asset Management LLP bought a new stake in shares of Salesforce during the 3rd quarter worth $733,805,000. Jennison Associates LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 52.7% in the fourth quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 4,433,785 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $1,482,347,000 after acquiring an additional 1,530,572 shares during the last quarter. Swedbank AB boosted its stake in shares of Salesforce by 46.7% in the 4th quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 3,829,773 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $1,280,408,000 after purchasing an additional 1,219,254 shares in the last quarter. KBC Group NV grew its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 171.2% during the 3rd quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,634,834 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $447,470,000 after purchasing an additional 1,032,068 shares during the last quarter. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its position in Salesforce by 23,664.2% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,002,848 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $274,490,000 after purchasing an additional 998,628 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.43% of the company’s stock.

Salesforce Stock Performance

Shares of CRM stock opened at $326.95 on Tuesday. Salesforce, Inc. has a 12 month low of $212.00 and a 12 month high of $369.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $312.89 billion, a PE ratio of 53.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 1.31. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $338.97 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $301.03. The company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, December 3rd. The CRM provider reported $2.41 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.44 by ($0.03). The business had revenue of $9.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.35 billion. Salesforce had a return on equity of 12.34% and a net margin of 15.96%. The company’s revenue was up 8.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.62 EPS. Analysts forecast that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 9th. Investors of record on Wednesday, December 18th were issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, December 18th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.49%. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 26.32%.

Insider Activity at Salesforce

In related news, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 436 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $332.28, for a total transaction of $144,874.08. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 7,057 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,344,899.96. This trade represents a 5.82 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Marc Benioff sold 317,105 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $346.78, for a total transaction of $109,965,671.90. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 12,162,457 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,217,696,838.46. The trade was a 2.54 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 1,111,420 shares of company stock valued at $384,366,700. 3.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have weighed in on CRM. DA Davidson raised their target price on shares of Salesforce from $250.00 to $300.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Salesforce from $340.00 to $380.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on Salesforce from $300.00 to $420.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Erste Group Bank raised Salesforce from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. Finally, Loop Capital upped their price objective on Salesforce from $340.00 to $360.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, thirty-one have given a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Salesforce currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $377.63.

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.