11,750 Shares in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) Acquired by Central Asset Investments & Management Holdings HK Ltd

Central Asset Investments & Management Holdings HK Ltd purchased a new stake in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 11,750 shares of the CRM provider’s stock, valued at approximately $3,928,000. Salesforce accounts for about 2.4% of Central Asset Investments & Management Holdings HK Ltd’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 12th largest holding.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. State Street Corp increased its position in shares of Salesforce by 1.8% in the third 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 during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 1.3% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 19,780,318 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $5,395,132,000 after buying an additional 257,501 shares during the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of Salesforce by 2.6% during the 3rd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 12,276,551 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $3,360,215,000 after buying an additional 314,530 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 1.0% during the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 5,964,702 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $1,632,599,000 after acquiring an additional 57,825 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in Salesforce by 1.7% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 5,912,854 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $1,618,407,000 after acquiring an additional 96,381 shares in the last quarter. 80.43% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have weighed in on CRM. Scotiabank raised their price target on Salesforce from $425.00 to $440.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Northland Securities reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $440.00 price objective (up from $400.00) on shares of Salesforce in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on Salesforce from $400.00 to $425.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Oppenheimer reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $415.00 price target (up from $385.00) on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, TD Cowen upgraded shares of Salesforce from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $380.00 to $400.00 in a report on Friday, January 17th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, thirty-two have assigned a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $374.47.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Marc Benioff sold 317,105 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $346.78, for a total value of $109,965,671.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 12,162,457 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,217,696,838.46. The trade was a 2.54 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Amy E. Weaver sold 6,221 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $343.00, for a total transaction of $2,133,803.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 53,861 shares in the company, valued at $18,474,323. This trade represents a 10.35 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 1,102,572 shares of company stock worth $381,283,706. Insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

Salesforce Stock Up 0.4 %

Shares of NYSE:CRM opened at $307.19 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a current ratio of 1.11. Salesforce, Inc. has a 52-week low of $212.00 and a 52-week high of $369.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $293.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 50.53, a P/E/G ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 1.31. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $330.86 and a 200-day moving average price of $306.97.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, December 3rd. The CRM provider reported $2.41 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.44 by ($0.03). The firm had revenue of $9.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.35 billion. Salesforce had a net margin of 15.96% and a return on equity of 12.34%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.62 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.46 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.52%. 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.