Rhumbline Advisers Purchases 46,364 Shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Rhumbline Advisers boosted its stake in shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 2.5% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,866,589 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 46,364 shares during the quarter. Rhumbline Advisers owned about 0.19% of Salesforce worth $479,900,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Salesforce by 1.2% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 84,635,254 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $25,490,446,000 after acquiring an additional 1,008,841 shares during the last quarter. Capital World Investors increased its stake in Salesforce by 2.4% during the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 19,561,325 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $5,147,402,000 after acquiring an additional 457,463 shares during the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its stake in Salesforce by 5.2% during the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 14,905,462 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $3,922,223,000 after acquiring an additional 736,986 shares during the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors increased its stake in Salesforce by 26.9% during the first quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 14,376,536 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $4,329,925,000 after acquiring an additional 3,044,611 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Capital International Investors increased its stake in Salesforce by 3.0% during the first quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 14,116,449 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $4,251,592,000 after acquiring an additional 407,834 shares during the last quarter. 80.43% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have issued reports on CRM shares. Barclays dropped their target price on Salesforce from $355.00 to $305.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 30th. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their target price on Salesforce from $360.00 to $350.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 30th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their target price on Salesforce from $350.00 to $300.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 30th. Bank of America boosted their target price on Salesforce from $316.00 to $325.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. Finally, DA Davidson boosted their target price on Salesforce from $230.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-seven have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $304.41.

Salesforce Price Performance

NYSE:CRM opened at $252.90 on Tuesday. Salesforce, Inc. has a one year low of $193.68 and a one year high of $318.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a current ratio of 1.04. The firm has a market cap of $245.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 45.49, a PEG ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 1.29. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $254.70 and its two-hundred day moving average is $270.73.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 28th. The CRM provider reported $2.56 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.36 by $0.20. Salesforce had a net margin of 15.44% and a return on equity of 12.01%. The company had revenue of $9.33 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.22 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.63 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 8.5% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.52 EPS for the current year.

Salesforce Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 25th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, July 9th were paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.63%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, July 9th. Salesforce’s payout ratio is currently 28.78%.

Insider Transactions at Salesforce

In other news, insider Parker Harris sold 4,200 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $262.90, for a total transaction of $1,104,180.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 117,581 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $30,912,044.90. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, insider Parker Harris sold 4,200 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $262.90, for a total value of $1,104,180.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 117,581 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $30,912,044.90. 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 firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $255.78, for a total transaction of $229,434.66. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 51,109 shares in the company, valued at $13,072,660.02. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 95,164 shares of company stock valued at $23,760,225 in the last ninety days. 3.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate 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.