Sciencast Management LP Acquires Shares of 5,481 Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Sciencast Management LP bought a new position in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm bought 5,481 shares of the CRM provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,156,000. Salesforce makes up 0.9% of Sciencast Management LP’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 9th largest holding.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of CRM. Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its position in shares of Salesforce by 18.3% during the 2nd quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,547,360 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $329,387,000 after buying an additional 239,786 shares in the last quarter. Financial Management Professionals Inc. boosted its position in Salesforce by 237.4% in the first quarter. Financial Management Professionals Inc. now owns 722 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $144,000 after purchasing an additional 508 shares during the last quarter. Independence Bank of Kentucky grew its stake in Salesforce by 2.3% in the 2nd quarter. Independence Bank of Kentucky now owns 13,401 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $2,831,000 after purchasing an additional 295 shares during the period. William Blair Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of Salesforce by 1.1% during the 1st quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 1,047,620 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $209,294,000 after purchasing an additional 11,322 shares during the last quarter. Finally, VELA Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 5.9% in the 1st quarter. VELA Investment Management LLC now owns 5,040 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $1,007,000 after buying an additional 283 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 77.52% of the company’s stock.

Salesforce Stock Performance

Shares of Salesforce stock opened at $214.40 on Tuesday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $218.24 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $206.68. The firm has a market capitalization of $208.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 135.23, a P/E/G ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 1.19. The company has a current ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. Salesforce, Inc. has a 12 month low of $126.34 and a 12 month high of $238.22.

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have commented on CRM. Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $220.00 to $229.00 in a research report on Thursday, August 31st. Morgan Stanley lowered Salesforce from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $251.00 to $278.00 in a research note on Monday, July 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Salesforce from $230.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 31st. Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on Salesforce from $248.00 to $268.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 31st. Finally, Evercore ISI lifted their target price on shares of Salesforce from $240.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 31st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating, twenty-five have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $240.59.

Insider Buying and Selling at Salesforce

In other news, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 164 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, July 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $225.05, for a total transaction of $36,908.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 2,230 shares in the company, valued at $501,861.50. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other Salesforce news, CEO Marc Benioff sold 15,000 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction on Friday, September 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $215.54, for a total value of $3,233,100.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 15,786,166 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,402,550,219.64. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 164 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, July 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $225.05, for a total value of $36,908.20. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 2,230 shares in the company, valued at $501,861.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 633,071 shares of company stock worth $138,539,253. 3.70% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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 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.