Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) Position Boosted by Cullinan Associates Inc.

Cullinan Associates Inc. boosted its stake in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 1.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 18,586 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after buying an additional 190 shares during the quarter. Cullinan Associates Inc.’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $6,214,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of CRM. Veritas Asset Management LLP acquired a new stake in shares of Salesforce in the third quarter worth about $733,805,000. Jennison Associates LLC grew its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 1,530,572 shares during the last quarter. Swedbank AB increased its stake in shares of Salesforce by 46.7% in the fourth quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 3,829,773 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $1,280,408,000 after purchasing an additional 1,219,254 shares during the period. KBC Group NV lifted its position in shares of Salesforce by 171.2% during the 3rd quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,634,834 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $447,470,000 after purchasing an additional 1,032,068 shares during the last quarter. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in Salesforce by 23,664.2% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,002,848 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $274,490,000 after buying an additional 998,628 shares during the last quarter. 80.43% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Salesforce

In other Salesforce news, COO Brian Millham sold 14,808 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $338.95, for a total value of $5,019,171.60. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Amy E. Weaver sold 6,221 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $329.88, for a total value of $2,052,183.48. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 45,861 shares in the company, valued at $15,128,626.68. The trade was a 11.94 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 1,104,699 shares of company stock valued at $382,108,847. Insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CRM has been the topic of several recent research reports. Truist Financial reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $400.00 target price (up from $380.00) on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Salesforce from $275.00 to $330.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Salesforce from $340.00 to $380.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Erste Group Bank upgraded Salesforce from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on Salesforce from $390.00 to $425.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, thirty-one have given a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Salesforce has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $377.63.

Salesforce Stock Performance

CRM opened at $339.28 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $324.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 55.80, a P/E/G ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 1.30. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $338.67 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $297.99. Salesforce, Inc. has a 1 year low of $212.00 and a 1 year high of $369.00. 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 (NYSE:CRM) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, December 3rd. The CRM provider reported $2.41 EPS 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 analyst estimates of $9.35 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.62 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts expect that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 9th. Investors of record on Wednesday, December 18th were issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, December 18th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.47%. Salesforce’s payout ratio is presently 26.32%.

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.