Paradigm Asset Management Co. LLC Purchases 2,800 Shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Paradigm Asset Management Co. LLC boosted its position in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 42.1% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 9,450 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after buying an additional 2,800 shares during the quarter. Salesforce comprises 0.9% of Paradigm Asset Management Co. LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 18th biggest position. Paradigm Asset Management Co. LLC’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $3,159,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in CRM. Elevated Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Salesforce in the 3rd quarter valued at about $523,000. U.S. Capital Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in Salesforce by 74.4% in the 3rd quarter. U.S. Capital Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 12,424 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $3,401,000 after acquiring an additional 5,299 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its stake in Salesforce by 23,664.2% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,002,848 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $274,490,000 after acquiring an additional 998,628 shares during the period. YHB Investment Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in Salesforce by 4.4% during the 3rd quarter. YHB Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 19,233 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $5,264,000 after buying an additional 811 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Great Lakes Retirement Inc. grew its holdings in Salesforce by 3.4% during the 3rd quarter. Great Lakes Retirement Inc. now owns 9,526 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $2,607,000 after buying an additional 312 shares in the last quarter. 80.43% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Salesforce Trading Down 1.8 %

NYSE CRM opened at $318.76 on Friday. Salesforce, Inc. has a 12 month low of $212.00 and a 12 month high of $369.00. The stock has a market cap of $305.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 52.43, a P/E/G ratio of 2.63 and a beta of 1.31. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $334.23 and its 200-day moving average price is $304.76. The company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, December 3rd. The CRM provider reported $2.41 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.44 by ($0.03). Salesforce had a return on equity of 12.34% and a net margin of 15.96%. The company had revenue of $9.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.35 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.62 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 8.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.46 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 9th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, December 18th were paid a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, December 18th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.50%. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio is currently 26.32%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the company. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $405.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on Salesforce from $340.00 to $430.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Northland Securities reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $440.00 target price (up previously from $400.00) on shares of Salesforce in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on Salesforce from $390.00 to $425.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Scotiabank boosted their price objective on Salesforce from $425.00 to $440.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, thirty-two have given a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $376.84.

Insider Activity at Salesforce

In other Salesforce news, insider Miguel Milano sold 719 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction on Monday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $342.81, for a total value of $246,480.39. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 4,659 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,597,151.79. The trade was a 13.37 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director G Mason Morfit sold 722,300 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $346.11, for a total transaction of $249,995,253.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 3,192,009 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,104,786,234.99. This represents a 18.45 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 1,102,833 shares of company stock valued at $381,389,136 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

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.