Fisher Asset Management LLC Acquires 177,321 Shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 1.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 12,453,872 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 177,321 shares during the period. Salesforce comprises 1.7% of Fisher Asset Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 12th largest holding. Fisher Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $4,163,703,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of CRM. Infrastructure Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Salesforce during the third quarter worth $27,000. Arlington Trust Co LLC increased its position in shares of Salesforce by 85.1% during the fourth quarter. Arlington Trust Co LLC now owns 87 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 40 shares during the period. Compass Financial Services Inc acquired a new stake in shares of Salesforce during the fourth quarter worth $30,000. Asset Planning Inc acquired a new stake in shares of Salesforce during the fourth quarter worth $31,000. Finally, Collier Financial acquired a new stake in Salesforce in the fourth quarter worth $32,000. Institutional investors own 80.43% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have commented on CRM. Macquarie reduced their price target on shares of Salesforce from $370.00 to $320.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday. Loop Capital dropped their target price on shares of Salesforce from $330.00 to $300.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday. Guggenheim reissued a “sell” rating and issued a $247.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a report on Thursday. Erste Group Bank raised shares of Salesforce from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on shares of Salesforce from $360.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating, thirty-two have given a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Salesforce has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $365.32.

Insider Transactions at Salesforce

In other news, Director G Mason Morfit sold 722,300 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $346.11, for a total transaction of $249,995,253.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 3,192,009 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,104,786,234.99. This represents a 18.45 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Miguel Milano sold 458 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $307.97, for a total transaction of $141,050.26. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 5,864 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,805,936.08. This trade represents a 7.24 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 1,102,572 shares of company stock valued at $381,283,706 in the last ninety days. 3.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Salesforce Stock Up 0.9 %

Shares of Salesforce stock opened at $297.63 on Friday. Salesforce, Inc. has a 52-week low of $212.00 and a 52-week high of $369.00. The company has a 50 day moving average of $329.11 and a 200 day moving average of $307.21. The company has a quick ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. The company has a market capitalization of $284.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 48.95, a P/E/G ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 1.31.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, December 3rd. The CRM provider reported $2.41 earnings per share 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 analysts’ expectations of $9.35 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.62 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts forecast that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.46 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 9th. Shareholders 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 yield of 0.54%. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio is currently 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.