Artemis Investment Management LLP Purchases New Position in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Artemis Investment Management LLP bought a new position in shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 45,216 shares of the CRM provider's stock, valued at approximately $15,117,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Steigerwald Gordon & Koch Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Salesforce in the fourth quarter valued at $212,000. Arbor Trust Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Salesforce by 6.2% in the 4th quarter. Arbor Trust Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 6,949 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $2,326,000 after acquiring an additional 407 shares during the last quarter. Clarius Group LLC boosted its position in shares of Salesforce by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. Clarius Group LLC now owns 9,911 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $3,313,000 after purchasing an additional 163 shares in the last quarter. Oak Ridge Investments LLC acquired a new position in shares of Salesforce in the 4th quarter worth approximately $683,000. Finally, HF Advisory Group LLC lifted its stake in Salesforce by 16.1% during the fourth quarter. HF Advisory Group LLC now owns 6,282 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $2,100,000 after purchasing an additional 872 shares during the last quarter. 80.43% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Salesforce Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:CRM traded up $4.77 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $324.77. The company's stock had a trading volume of 6,283,814 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,604,853. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a current ratio of 1.11. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $337.31 and its 200 day simple moving average is $292.02. The stock has a market capitalization of $310.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 53.42, a PEG ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 1.30. Salesforce, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $212.00 and a fifty-two week high of $369.00.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, December 3rd. The CRM provider reported $2.41 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $2.44 by ($0.03). Salesforce had a net margin of 15.96% and a return on equity of 12.34%. The business had revenue of $9.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.35 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.62 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.48 earnings per share for the current year.

Salesforce Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 9th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, December 18th were given a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, December 18th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.49%. Salesforce's dividend payout ratio is 26.32%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CRM has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Wedbush reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $425.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $300.00 to $420.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on shares of Salesforce from $390.00 to $425.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Loop Capital upped their price target on shares of Salesforce from $340.00 to $360.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $275.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, thirty-one have assigned a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $377.63.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Amy E. Weaver sold 6,221 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $329.88, for a total transaction of $2,052,183.48. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 45,861 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $15,128,626.68. This trade represents a 11.94 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 413 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $285.29, for a total transaction of $117,824.77. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 7,006 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,998,741.74. This trade represents a 5.57 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 1,183,838 shares of company stock valued at $405,595,158. Insiders own 3.20% of the company's stock.

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.