Southpoint Capital Advisors LP Acquires New Shares in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Southpoint Capital Advisors LP bought a new position in shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 300,000 shares of the CRM provider’s stock, valued at approximately $82,113,000. Salesforce comprises approximately 1.9% of Southpoint Capital Advisors LP’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 22nd largest holding.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Salesforce by 13.6% in the 3rd quarter. Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 58,036 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $15,885,000 after acquiring an additional 6,938 shares in the last quarter. Aljian Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Salesforce by 16.1% in the 3rd quarter. Aljian Capital Management LLC now owns 13,258 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $3,629,000 after acquiring an additional 1,834 shares in the last quarter. AIA Group Ltd raised its position in shares of Salesforce by 8.9% in the 3rd quarter. AIA Group Ltd now owns 24,028 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $6,577,000 after acquiring an additional 1,962 shares in the last quarter. Harvest Portfolios Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Salesforce by 13.6% in the 3rd quarter. Harvest Portfolios Group Inc. now owns 89,098 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $24,387,000 after acquiring an additional 10,656 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Transamerica Financial Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of Salesforce in the 3rd quarter worth about $3,672,000. 80.43% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Salesforce

In related news, COO Brian Millham sold 60,522 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $300.00, for a total value of $18,156,600.00. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Miguel Milano sold 719 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $342.81, for a total transaction of $246,480.39. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 4,659 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,597,151.79. This represents a 13.37 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 144,510 shares of company stock worth $42,475,538. Company insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CRM has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Oppenheimer reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $385.00 price objective (up from $330.00) on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. 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. Canaccord Genuity Group boosted their target price on Salesforce from $300.00 to $315.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. Scotiabank assumed coverage on Salesforce in a research note on Monday, November 18th. They set a “sector outperform” rating and a $425.00 price target for the company. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their price target on Salesforce from $234.00 to $236.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-eight have assigned a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Salesforce has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $341.89.

Salesforce Stock Performance

NYSE CRM opened at $329.99 on Friday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $302.12 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $270.65. The company has a quick ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. Salesforce, Inc. has a 12-month low of $212.00 and a 12-month high of $348.86. The firm has a market cap of $315.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 57.39, a PEG ratio of 2.99 and a beta of 1.29.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 28th. The CRM provider reported $2.56 earnings per share (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 business had revenue of $9.33 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.22 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.63 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 8.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.54 EPS for the current year.

Salesforce Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 8th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, September 18th were issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, September 18th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.48%. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio is currently 27.83%.

Salesforce Company 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.