Lazari Capital Management Inc. Raises Holdings in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Lazari Capital Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 1.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 5,506 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after buying an additional 63 shares during the period. Salesforce accounts for 0.7% of Lazari Capital Management Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 29th largest position. Lazari Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $1,841,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Veritas Asset Management LLP purchased a new stake in Salesforce during the 3rd quarter worth about $733,805,000. Swedbank AB lifted its holdings in Salesforce by 46.7% during the 4th quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 3,829,773 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $1,280,408,000 after purchasing an additional 1,219,254 shares in the last quarter. KBC Group NV lifted its holdings in Salesforce by 171.2% during the 3rd quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,634,834 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $447,470,000 after purchasing an additional 1,032,068 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings 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. Finally, State Street Corp lifted its holdings in Salesforce by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 49,007,404 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $13,432,855,000 after purchasing an additional 864,193 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.43% of the company’s stock.

Salesforce Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:CRM opened at $341.80 on Monday. 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, Inc. has a twelve month low of $212.00 and a twelve month high of $369.00. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $338.67 and its 200-day moving average price is $297.99. The stock has a market capitalization of $327.10 billion, a PE ratio of 56.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 1.31.

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). 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 analysts’ expectations of $9.35 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.62 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.48 EPS for the current year.

Salesforce Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 9th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, December 18th were paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.47%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, December 18th. Salesforce’s payout ratio is 26.32%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on CRM. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on Salesforce from $300.00 to $420.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Guggenheim cut Salesforce from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $247.00 price target on the stock. in a report on Monday, January 6th. Scotiabank raised their price target on Salesforce from $425.00 to $440.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $405.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Finally, DA Davidson raised their price target on Salesforce from $250.00 to $300.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, thirty-one have given a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Salesforce has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $377.63.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Salesforce news, insider Parker Harris sold 3,970 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $296.74, for a total transaction of $1,178,057.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 119,402 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $35,431,349.48. The trade was a 3.22 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Amy E. Weaver sold 6,221 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $329.88, for a total value of $2,052,183.48. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 45,861 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,128,626.68. This trade represents a 11.94 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 1,108,669 shares of company stock valued at $383,286,905 over the last three months. 3.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.