Lingotto Investment Management LLP Takes Position in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Lingotto Investment Management LLP purchased a new stake in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) in the second quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm purchased 13,000 shares of the CRM provider’s stock, valued at approximately $3,342,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Salesforce by 1.2% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 84,635,254 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $25,490,446,000 after buying an additional 1,008,841 shares in the last quarter. Capital World Investors raised its position in shares of Salesforce by 2.4% in the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 19,561,325 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $5,147,402,000 after buying an additional 457,463 shares in the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of Salesforce by 5.2% in the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 14,905,462 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $3,922,223,000 after buying an additional 736,986 shares in the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors raised its position in shares of Salesforce by 26.9% in the first quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 14,376,536 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $4,329,925,000 after buying an additional 3,044,611 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Capital International Investors raised its position in shares of Salesforce by 3.0% in the first quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 14,116,449 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $4,251,592,000 after buying an additional 407,834 shares in the last quarter. 80.43% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Sabastian Niles sold 2,484 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $244.81, for a total value of $608,108.04. Following the sale, the insider now owns 828 shares in the company, valued at approximately $202,702.68. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other Salesforce news, insider Parker Harris sold 5,600 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $250.17, for a total value of $1,400,952.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 116,693 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $29,193,087.81. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Sabastian Niles sold 2,484 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $244.81, for a total transaction of $608,108.04. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 828 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $202,702.68. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 62,376 shares of company stock worth $15,878,005 in the last quarter. Insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

Salesforce Price Performance

Shares of NYSE CRM opened at $255.32 on Wednesday. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $253.61 and its 200-day moving average price is $267.11. Salesforce, Inc. has a 1-year low of $193.68 and a 1-year high of $318.71. The firm has a market capitalization of $247.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 45.92, a P/E/G ratio of 2.26 and a beta of 1.29. The company has a current ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 28th. The CRM provider reported $2.56 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.36 by $0.20. Salesforce had a net margin of 15.44% and a return on equity of 12.01%. The firm had revenue of $9.33 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.22 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.63 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 8th. Investors of record on Wednesday, September 18th will be issued a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, September 18th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.63%. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio is presently 28.78%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CRM has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Raymond James boosted their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $325.00 to $350.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $300.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. DA Davidson boosted their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $230.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. Truist Financial restated a “buy” rating and set a $300.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Friday, August 30th. Finally, Mizuho lowered their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $345.00 to $300.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 30th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-six have assigned a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Salesforce currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $305.55.

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.