Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) Shares Bought by E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd.

E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 87.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 430 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 201 shares during the quarter. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd.’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $144,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Infrastructure Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Salesforce during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Godsey & Gibb Inc. boosted its stake in Salesforce by 300.0% during the 3rd quarter. Godsey & Gibb Inc. now owns 120 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 90 shares during the last quarter. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL bought a new position in Salesforce during the 2nd quarter valued at $33,000. Annapolis Financial Services LLC increased its position in shares of Salesforce by 135.6% in the 3rd quarter. Annapolis Financial Services LLC now owns 139 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 80 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Friedenthal Financial acquired a new stake in shares of Salesforce in the 4th quarter valued at about $55,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.43% of the company’s stock.

Salesforce Trading Down 0.4 %

NYSE:CRM opened at $333.47 on Monday. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $336.73 and a 200 day simple moving average of $294.31. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $319.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 54.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.01 and a beta of 1.30. Salesforce, Inc. has a 1-year low of $212.00 and a 1-year high of $369.00.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last released its earnings results 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). The firm had revenue of $9.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.35 billion. Salesforce had a return on equity of 12.34% and a net margin of 15.96%. The business’s revenue was up 8.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.62 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.48 earnings per share for the current year.

Salesforce Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 9th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, December 18th were given 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 0.48%. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 26.32%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director G Mason Morfit sold 722,300 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 approximately $1,104,786,234.99. The trade was a 18.45 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, COO Brian Millham sold 60,522 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $300.00, for a total transaction of $18,156,600.00. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 1,173,891 shares of company stock worth $402,840,388. 3.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently commented on CRM shares. KeyCorp upgraded Salesforce from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $440.00 price target for the company in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on Salesforce from $300.00 to $420.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Citigroup raised their price objective on Salesforce from $368.00 to $390.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on shares of Salesforce from $385.00 to $425.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on shares of Salesforce from $390.00 to $425.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, thirty-one have issued a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Salesforce currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $377.63.

Salesforce Company 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.