First Eagle Investment Management LLC Boosts Stock Holdings in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

First Eagle Investment Management LLC lifted its position in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 35.8% during the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 2,624,665 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 692,493 shares during the period. Salesforce accounts for 1.5% of First Eagle Investment Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 26th largest position. First Eagle Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $674,801,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Gilbert & Cook Inc. boosted its position in Salesforce by 6.9% during the fourth quarter. Gilbert & Cook Inc. now owns 5,659 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $1,489,000 after acquiring an additional 366 shares during the last quarter. Aveo Capital Partners LLC lifted its position in Salesforce by 44.7% during the fourth quarter. Aveo Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,605 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $422,000 after buying an additional 496 shares in the last quarter. 9258 Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in Salesforce by 24.0% during the fourth quarter. 9258 Wealth Management LLC now owns 6,483 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $1,706,000 after buying an additional 1,253 shares during the last quarter. Gryphon Financial Partners LLC grew its holdings in Salesforce by 32.4% in the 4th quarter. Gryphon Financial Partners LLC now owns 3,960 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $1,064,000 after buying an additional 970 shares in the last quarter. Finally, TrinityPoint Wealth LLC increased its stake in shares of Salesforce by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. TrinityPoint Wealth LLC now owns 8,036 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $2,115,000 after acquiring an additional 133 shares during the last quarter. 80.43% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Salesforce Stock Down 1.1 %

CRM stock opened at $252.42 on Thursday. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $253.60 and its 200 day moving average price is $267.01. The firm has a market capitalization of $244.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 45.40, a PEG ratio of 2.26 and a beta of 1.29. Salesforce, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $193.68 and a fifty-two week high of $318.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a current ratio of 1.04.

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

Salesforce Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 8th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, September 18th will be given a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, September 18th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.63%. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio is currently 28.78%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on CRM. TD Cowen upped their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $285.00 to $290.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Evercore ISI restated an “outperform” rating and set a $300.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a report on Monday, August 26th. Phillip Securities reiterated an “accumulate” rating and issued a $305.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a report on Friday, August 30th. FBN Securities upgraded Salesforce to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Salesforce from $300.00 to $310.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-six have given a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $305.55.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Srinivas Tallapragada sold 942 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $242.32, for a total transaction of $228,265.44. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 22,154 shares in the company, valued at $5,368,357.28. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, insider Srinivas Tallapragada sold 942 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $242.32, for a total value of $228,265.44. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 22,154 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,368,357.28. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Parker Harris sold 4,200 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $257.04, for a total value of $1,079,568.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 117,581 shares in the company, valued at approximately $30,223,020.24. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 66,576 shares of company stock worth $16,957,573. 3.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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