Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) Shares Bought by NS Partners Ltd

NS Partners Ltd raised its stake in shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM - Free Report) by 2.5% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 101,716 shares of the CRM provider's stock after purchasing an additional 2,434 shares during the period. Salesforce makes up approximately 1.2% of NS Partners Ltd's portfolio, making the stock its 28th biggest holding. NS Partners Ltd's holdings in Salesforce were worth $27,841,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Bessemer Group Inc. boosted its position in Salesforce by 103.5% during the first quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 54,761 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $16,494,000 after buying an additional 27,850 shares during the period. Sax Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Salesforce in the 1st quarter valued at $233,000. CreativeOne Wealth LLC increased its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 180.6% in the 1st quarter. CreativeOne Wealth LLC now owns 7,520 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $2,265,000 after buying an additional 4,840 shares during the last quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in Salesforce by 20.8% in the 1st quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 26,451 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $7,967,000 after buying an additional 4,553 shares during the period. Finally, Axxcess Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 21.4% in the 1st quarter. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC now owns 13,954 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $4,203,000 after purchasing an additional 2,461 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.43% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on shares of Salesforce from $350.00 to $400.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, November 11th. Loop Capital increased their target price on shares of Salesforce from $270.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, November 14th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $320.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Northland Capmk raised shares of Salesforce from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. Finally, Bank of America raised their price target on shares of Salesforce from $325.00 to $390.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-eight have assigned a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $326.19.

Insider Activity at Salesforce

In other news, insider Parker Harris sold 3,970 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $296.74, for a total value of $1,178,057.80. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 119,402 shares of the company's stock, valued at $35,431,349.48. The trade was a 3.22 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Amy E. Weaver sold 897 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $285.29, for a total value of $255,905.13. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 52,930 shares of the company's stock, valued at $15,100,399.70. This trade represents a 1.67 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 140,173 shares of company stock valued at $40,146,206. 3.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Salesforce Stock Performance

NYSE:CRM traded up $2.27 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $325.70. 3,565,497 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,290,346. The stock has a market capitalization of $311.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 56.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 1.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a current ratio of 1.04. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $289.68 and its 200 day simple moving average is $267.31. Salesforce, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $212.00 and a fifty-two week high of $348.86.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 28th. The CRM provider reported $2.56 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.36 by $0.20. The business had revenue of $9.33 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.22 billion. Salesforce had a return on equity of 12.01% and a net margin of 15.44%. Salesforce's quarterly revenue was up 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.63 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 8th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, September 18th were issued a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, September 18th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.49%. Salesforce's dividend payout ratio is presently 27.83%.

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.