DSC Advisors L.P. Makes New Investment in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

DSC Advisors L.P. acquired a new stake in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 1,054 shares of the CRM provider’s stock, valued at approximately $211,000. Salesforce accounts for about 0.2% of DSC Advisors L.P.’s holdings, making the stock its 18th biggest position.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of CRM. Walkner Condon Financial Advisors LLC increased its stake in Salesforce by 2.0% in the first quarter. Walkner Condon Financial Advisors LLC now owns 2,599 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $519,000 after purchasing an additional 51 shares during the last quarter. Western Pacific Wealth Management LP grew its position in shares of Salesforce by 1.2% in the 1st quarter. Western Pacific Wealth Management LP now owns 4,545 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $908,000 after buying an additional 53 shares during the last quarter. Koshinski Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in Salesforce by 0.6% during the 1st quarter. Koshinski Asset Management Inc. now owns 9,715 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $1,941,000 after acquiring an additional 54 shares in the last quarter. Argent Advisors Inc. raised its stake in Salesforce by 1.1% during the 1st quarter. Argent Advisors Inc. now owns 4,952 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $989,000 after acquiring an additional 54 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Prudent Man Advisors LLC lifted its position in Salesforce by 1.1% in the first quarter. Prudent Man Advisors LLC now owns 5,355 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $1,070,000 after acquiring an additional 56 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 77.52% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Salesforce

In related news, CEO Marc Benioff sold 15,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $205.12, for a total transaction of $3,076,800.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 16,086,166 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,299,594,369.92. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other Salesforce news, CEO Marc Benioff sold 15,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $205.12, for a total value of $3,076,800.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 16,086,166 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,299,594,369.92. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 164 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $225.05, for a total transaction of $36,908.20. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 2,230 shares in the company, valued at $501,861.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 1,166,195 shares of company stock valued at $249,318,692. 3.70% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CRM has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. StockNews.com upgraded Salesforce from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 31st. Roth Mkm increased their price objective on Salesforce from $242.00 to $265.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 31st. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on shares of Salesforce from $250.00 to $275.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 31st. Societe Generale cut shares of Salesforce from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 1st. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $145.00 to $153.00 in a research note on Thursday, June 1st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating, twenty-four have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $239.86.

Salesforce Price Performance

NYSE:CRM traded down $1.19 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $223.57. 1,754,594 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 7,054,305. Salesforce, Inc. has a 1 year low of $126.34 and a 1 year high of $238.22. The company has a market cap of $217.53 billion, a PE ratio of 141.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.68 and a beta of 1.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.02. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $217.39 and its 200 day simple moving average is $204.72.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 30th. The CRM provider reported $2.12 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.90 by $0.22. The business had revenue of $8.60 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.53 billion. Salesforce had a net margin of 4.77% and a return on equity of 7.67%. The company’s revenue was up 11.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.52 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Salesforce, Inc. will post 5.86 EPS for the current year.

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 relationship intelligence, and deliver quotes, contracts, and invoices; and service that enables companies to deliver trusted and highly personalized customer service and support at scale.