Assetmark Inc. Acquires 42,903 Shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Assetmark Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 32.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 174,240 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 42,903 shares during the quarter. Assetmark Inc.’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $58,254,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of CRM. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Salesforce during the 3rd quarter worth about $182,000. Moloney Securities Asset Management LLC boosted its position in Salesforce by 23.5% during the third quarter. Moloney Securities Asset Management LLC now owns 6,263 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $1,714,000 after purchasing an additional 1,190 shares during the period. Clarity Capital Partners LLC grew its holdings in Salesforce by 16.1% during the third quarter. Clarity Capital Partners LLC now owns 15,068 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $4,124,000 after purchasing an additional 2,092 shares during the last quarter. United Advisor Group LLC raised its position in shares of Salesforce by 95.6% in the third quarter. United Advisor Group LLC now owns 1,715 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $469,000 after purchasing an additional 838 shares during the period. Finally, Sentry Investment Management LLC raised its position in shares of Salesforce by 4.4% in the third quarter. Sentry Investment Management LLC now owns 4,405 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $1,206,000 after purchasing an additional 184 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.43% of the company’s stock.

Salesforce Trading Down 2.0 %

Shares of CRM opened at $287.10 on Wednesday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $326.96 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $308.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a current ratio of 1.11. The company has a market cap of $274.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 47.22, a PEG ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 1.31. Salesforce, Inc. has a 52-week low of $212.00 and a 52-week high of $369.00.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, December 3rd. The CRM provider reported $2.41 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.44 by ($0.03). Salesforce had a net margin of 15.96% and a return on equity of 12.34%. The business had revenue of $9.44 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.35 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.62 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.46 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 9th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, December 18th were paid a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.56%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, December 18th. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio is presently 25.16%.

Insider Transactions at Salesforce

In other news, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 436 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $332.28, for a total transaction of $144,874.08. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 7,057 shares in the company, valued at $2,344,899.96. The trade was a 5.82 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Robin L. Washington purchased 1,695 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 28th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $294.61 per share, for a total transaction of $499,363.95. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 43,445 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,799,331.45. The trade was a 4.06 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 1,108,793 shares of company stock worth $383,156,227. Corporate insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on CRM shares. TD Cowen upgraded shares of Salesforce from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the company from $380.00 to $400.00 in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on Salesforce from $345.00 to $310.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Scotiabank dropped their price objective on Salesforce from $440.00 to $400.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Bank of America decreased their target price on Salesforce from $440.00 to $400.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $400.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating, thirty-two have given a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Salesforce currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $365.32.

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.