Optas LLC Has $7.53 Million Stock Holdings in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Optas LLC grew its stake in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 210.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 22,512 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 15,270 shares during the quarter. Salesforce comprises approximately 1.6% of Optas LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 15th largest holding. Optas LLC’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $7,526,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in CRM. GDS Wealth Management raised its holdings in Salesforce by 3.2% in the fourth quarter. GDS Wealth Management now owns 60,766 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $20,316,000 after purchasing an additional 1,896 shares during the period. Rheos Capital Works Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Salesforce in the 4th quarter valued at $9,696,000. Hodges Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Salesforce during the 4th quarter worth $216,000. Financial Life Planners bought a new position in Salesforce during the fourth quarter worth about $638,000. Finally, Jennison Associates LLC grew its stake in Salesforce by 52.7% in the fourth quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 4,433,785 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $1,482,347,000 after acquiring an additional 1,530,572 shares during the period. 80.43% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently commented on CRM. Oppenheimer reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $415.00 price target (up previously from $385.00) on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Salesforce from $330.00 to $405.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Loop Capital increased their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $340.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Erste Group Bank raised shares of Salesforce from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. Finally, KeyCorp upgraded Salesforce from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $440.00 target price for the company in a report on Friday, December 13th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, thirty-one have assigned a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Salesforce has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $377.63.

Insider Activity at Salesforce

In other news, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 436 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $332.28, for a total value of $144,874.08. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 7,057 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,344,899.96. This represents a 5.82 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Amy E. Weaver sold 6,221 shares of the business’s 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 in the company, valued at $15,128,626.68. This represents a 11.94 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 1,104,699 shares of company stock valued at $382,108,847 in the last quarter. Insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

Salesforce Stock Down 0.7 %

Shares of CRM opened at $339.28 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $338.67 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $297.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 1.11. Salesforce, Inc. has a one year low of $212.00 and a one year high of $369.00. The company has a market cap of $324.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 55.80, a P/E/G ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 1.30.

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

Salesforce Dividend Announcement

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