Venator Management LLC Makes New $643,000 Investment in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Venator Management LLC purchased a new stake in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) during the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund purchased 2,500 shares of the CRM provider’s stock, valued at approximately $643,000. Salesforce makes up 0.2% of Venator Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 24th biggest holding.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. increased its position in Salesforce by 186.7% in the 1st quarter. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. now owns 86 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 56 shares in the last quarter. Piscataqua Savings Bank increased its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 2,400.0% during the second quarter. Piscataqua Savings Bank now owns 100 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 96 shares in the last quarter. Red Tortoise LLC bought a new stake in shares of Salesforce during the first quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Clear Investment Research LLC raised its position in shares of Salesforce by 816.7% during the second quarter. Clear Investment Research LLC now owns 110 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 98 shares during the period. Finally, Stephens Consulting LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 3,125.0% in the 2nd quarter. Stephens Consulting LLC now owns 129 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 125 shares in the last quarter. 80.43% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CRM has been the subject of several recent research reports. DA Davidson boosted their target price on shares of Salesforce from $230.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. Barclays lowered their price objective on Salesforce from $355.00 to $305.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. Phillip Securities reaffirmed an “accumulate” rating and set a $305.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Friday, August 30th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on Salesforce from $300.00 to $320.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. Finally, Bank of America reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $325.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a report on Friday, September 6th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-six have given a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Salesforce has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $305.55.

Salesforce Stock Performance

Salesforce stock opened at $252.42 on Thursday. Salesforce, Inc. has a 1-year low of $193.68 and a 1-year high of $318.71. The company has a current ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. The firm has a market capitalization of $244.59 billion, a PE ratio of 45.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.26 and a beta of 1.29. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $253.60 and its 200 day simple moving average is $267.01.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 28th. The CRM provider reported $2.56 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.36 by $0.20. The firm had revenue of $9.33 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.22 billion. Salesforce had a net margin of 15.44% and a return on equity of 12.01%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 8.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.63 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.63%. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 28.78%.

Insider Transactions at Salesforce

In related news, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 413 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $255.78, for a total value of $105,637.14. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 6,431 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,644,921.18. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 413 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $255.78, for a total value of $105,637.14. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 6,431 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,644,921.18. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Oscar Munoz acquired 2,051 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 21st. The shares were bought at an average cost of $243.69 per share, with a total value of $499,808.19. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 7,026 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,712,165.94. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 66,576 shares of company stock valued at $16,957,573. 3.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

About Salesforce

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.