Los Angeles Capital Management LLC Acquires 120,428 Shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Los Angeles Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 21.6% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 677,841 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 120,428 shares during the period. Salesforce comprises approximately 0.9% of Los Angeles Capital Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 15th largest holding. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $226,623,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Arlington Trust Co LLC grew its stake in Salesforce by 85.1% in the fourth quarter. Arlington Trust Co LLC now owns 87 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 40 shares in the last quarter. Compass Financial Services Inc acquired a new stake in shares of Salesforce in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Asset Planning Inc bought a new position in shares of Salesforce in the fourth quarter valued at $31,000. Collier Financial acquired a new position in Salesforce during the fourth quarter worth $32,000. Finally, Infrastructure Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Salesforce during the third quarter worth $27,000. 80.43% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Amy E. Weaver sold 6,221 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $328.18, for a total value of $2,041,607.78. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 46,750 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,342,415. This represents a 11.74 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Miguel Milano sold 458 shares of the 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 sale, the insider now owns 5,864 shares of the company’s stock, 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. In the last three months, insiders have sold 1,102,572 shares of company stock valued at $381,283,706. 3.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Salesforce Price Performance

Salesforce stock opened at $308.27 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $295.01 billion, a PE ratio of 50.70, a P/E/G ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 1.31. 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 $332.36 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $306.60. Salesforce, Inc. has a 12 month low of $212.00 and a 12 month high of $369.00.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, December 3rd. The CRM provider reported $2.41 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.44 by ($0.03). The business had revenue of $9.44 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.35 billion. Salesforce had a return on equity of 12.34% and a net margin of 15.96%. The company’s revenue was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.62 earnings per share. Analysts expect that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.46 EPS for the current year.

Salesforce Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 9th. Investors of record on Wednesday, December 18th were given a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.52%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, December 18th. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio is currently 26.32%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CRM has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $425.00 to $375.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday. Piper Sandler set a $405.00 price objective on Salesforce in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Loop Capital reduced their target price on Salesforce from $360.00 to $330.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Oppenheimer restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $415.00 price target (up previously from $385.00) on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Truist Financial reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $400.00 price objective (up from $380.00) on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, thirty-two have given a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $375.53.

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.