Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd Raises Stake in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd boosted its stake in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 19.1% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 8,936 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,435 shares during the period. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $2,446,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Piscataqua Savings Bank raised its position in Salesforce by 2,400.0% during the 2nd quarter. Piscataqua Savings Bank now owns 100 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 96 shares during the last quarter. Clear Investment Research LLC boosted its stake in shares of Salesforce by 816.7% in the second quarter. Clear Investment Research LLC now owns 110 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 98 shares in the last quarter. Stephens Consulting LLC raised its position in Salesforce by 3,125.0% in the second quarter. Stephens Consulting LLC now owns 129 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 125 shares in the last quarter. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL purchased a new stake in shares of Salesforce during the 2nd quarter worth $33,000. Finally, Godsey & Gibb Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 300.0% in the 3rd quarter. Godsey & Gibb Inc. now owns 120 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 90 shares in the last quarter. 80.43% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on CRM. Scotiabank began coverage on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Monday, November 18th. They set a “sector outperform” rating and a $425.00 price target for the company. Northland Securities raised Salesforce from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $270.00 to $400.00 in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $345.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Friday, September 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $310.00 to $340.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein boosted their price target on Salesforce from $234.00 to $236.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-eight have given a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $336.37.

Salesforce Trading Up 1.9 %

NYSE CRM opened at $342.02 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a current ratio of 1.04 and a quick ratio of 1.04. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $294.61 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $268.53. The company has a market capitalization of $326.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 59.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 1.29. Salesforce, Inc. has a 12 month low of $212.00 and a 12 month high of $348.86.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 28th. The CRM provider reported $2.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.36 by $0.20. Salesforce had a return on equity of 12.01% and a net margin of 15.44%. The business had revenue of $9.33 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.22 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.63 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 8.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts predict that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 8th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, September 18th were paid 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, September 18th. Salesforce’s payout ratio is currently 27.83%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 413 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $285.29, for a total transaction of $117,824.77. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 7,006 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,998,741.74. This represents a 5.57 % 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 897 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $285.29, for a total value of $255,905.13. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 52,930 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $15,100,399.70. This trade represents a 1.67 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 147,991 shares of company stock worth $43,333,238 over the last 90 days. 3.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.