Aigen Investment Management LP Makes New Investment in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Aigen Investment Management LP purchased a new stake in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund purchased 5,425 shares of the CRM provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,814,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Jennison Associates LLC lifted its holdings in Salesforce by 52.7% in the fourth quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 4,433,785 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $1,482,347,000 after buying an additional 1,530,572 shares during the period. Swedbank AB lifted its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 46.7% during the 4th quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 3,829,773 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $1,280,408,000 after buying an additional 1,219,254 shares during the period. KBC Group NV grew its position in Salesforce by 171.2% during the third quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,634,834 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $447,470,000 after buying an additional 1,032,068 shares during the period. Proficio Capital Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Salesforce by 56,872.2% in the fourth quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 933,204 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $311,998,000 after buying an additional 931,566 shares during the period. Finally, State Street Corp lifted its stake in shares of Salesforce by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 49,007,404 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $13,432,855,000 after buying an additional 864,193 shares in the last quarter. 80.43% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Salesforce

In other Salesforce news, CEO Marc Benioff sold 317,105 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $346.78, for a total transaction of $109,965,671.90. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 12,162,457 shares in the company, valued at $4,217,696,838.46. The trade was a 2.54 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Amy E. Weaver sold 6,221 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $301.00, for a total value of $1,872,521.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 46,750 shares in the company, valued at $14,071,750. This trade represents a 11.74 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 1,108,793 shares of company stock valued at $383,156,227 in the last 90 days. 3.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Salesforce Stock Performance

CRM stock opened at $287.10 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $274.76 billion, a PE ratio of 47.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 1.31. Salesforce, Inc. has a 1-year low of $212.00 and a 1-year high of $369.00. The company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $326.96 and a 200-day moving average price of $308.33.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, December 3rd. The CRM provider reported $2.41 earnings per share (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 company had revenue of $9.44 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.35 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.62 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.46 earnings per share for the current year.

Salesforce Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 9th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, December 18th were paid a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, December 18th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.56%. Salesforce’s payout ratio is 25.16%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently commented on the stock. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $400.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Citigroup reissued a “cautious” rating on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Salesforce from $340.00 to $380.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on Salesforce from $345.00 to $310.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, Piper Sandler reduced their price target on shares of Salesforce from $405.00 to $400.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating, thirty-two have assigned a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Salesforce presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $365.32.

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.