844 Shares in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) Bought by LRT Capital Management LLC

LRT Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 844 shares of the CRM provider’s stock, valued at approximately $222,000.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CRM. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Salesforce in the fourth quarter valued at about $1,420,381,000. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Salesforce by 125,717.4% during the fourth quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 10,260,412 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $1,360,428,000 after acquiring an additional 10,252,257 shares during the last quarter. Cerity Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Salesforce by 1,254.7% during the fourth quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 3,483,670 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $916,693,000 after acquiring an additional 3,226,512 shares during the last quarter. Starboard Value LP purchased a new stake in shares of Salesforce during the fourth quarter worth about $401,215,000. Finally, Barclays PLC increased its position in shares of Salesforce by 99.7% during the second quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 3,196,861 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $675,370,000 after acquiring an additional 1,595,733 shares during the last quarter. 80.43% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Salesforce news, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 216 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $278.71, for a total value of $60,201.36. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 2,869 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $799,618.99. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other Salesforce news, insider R David Schmaier sold 3,910 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $274.77, for a total transaction of $1,074,350.70. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 19,463 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,347,848.51. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 216 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $278.71, for a total transaction of $60,201.36. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 2,869 shares in the company, valued at $799,618.99. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 581,595 shares of company stock valued at $171,584,072 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 3.70% of the company’s stock.

Salesforce Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE CRM opened at $270.37 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $297.28 and a 200-day simple moving average of $262.29. The company has a market cap of $262.26 billion, a PE ratio of 64.37, a P/E/G ratio of 2.08 and a beta of 1.28. Salesforce, Inc. has a 12-month low of $190.57 and a 12-month high of $318.71.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 28th. The CRM provider reported $1.78 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.72 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $9.29 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.22 billion. Salesforce had a return on equity of 10.42% and a net margin of 11.87%. The business’s revenue was up 10.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.01 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.45 EPS for the current year.

Salesforce Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 11th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 14th were given a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 13th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.59%. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio is presently 9.52%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on Salesforce from $290.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 29th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on Salesforce from $325.00 to $335.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 29th. TheStreet raised Salesforce from a “c+” rating to a “b-” rating in a research report on Friday, January 19th. Argus lifted their target price on Salesforce from $290.00 to $354.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 6th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Salesforce from $260.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 29th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-four have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $310.61.

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.