Renaissance Investment Group LLC Raises Stock Position in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Renaissance Investment Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM - Free Report) by 7.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 22,933 shares of the CRM provider's stock after purchasing an additional 1,656 shares during the period. Renaissance Investment Group LLC's holdings in Salesforce were worth $7,667,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of CRM. Veritas Asset Management LLP bought a new stake in shares of Salesforce during the 3rd quarter valued at $733,805,000. KBC Group NV lifted its position in Salesforce by 171.2% during the 3rd quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,634,834 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $447,470,000 after acquiring an additional 1,032,068 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in Salesforce by 23,664.2% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,002,848 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $274,490,000 after acquiring an additional 998,628 shares in the last quarter. Farallon Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Salesforce by 51.0% in the second quarter. Farallon Capital Management LLC now owns 2,946,838 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $757,632,000 after purchasing an additional 994,670 shares during the period. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its stake in shares of Salesforce by 25.1% during the second quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 4,378,826 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $1,125,331,000 after purchasing an additional 877,495 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.43% of the company's stock.

Salesforce Price Performance

Shares of NYSE CRM traded up $4.77 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $324.77. 6,283,814 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,604,853. The company's 50 day moving average is $337.31 and its 200 day moving average is $291.80. Salesforce, Inc. has a one year low of $212.00 and a one year high of $369.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 1.11. The stock has a market capitalization of $310.81 billion, a PE ratio of 53.42, a P/E/G ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 1.30.

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

Salesforce Announces Dividend

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

Insider Activity

In other Salesforce news, CFO Amy E. Weaver sold 897 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $285.29, for a total transaction of $255,905.13. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 52,930 shares in the company, valued at $15,100,399.70. The trade was a 1.67 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director G Mason Morfit sold 722,300 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $346.11, for a total value 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. The trade was a 18.45 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 1,183,838 shares of company stock valued at $405,595,158 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 3.20% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently commented on the company. Bank of America boosted their price target on Salesforce from $390.00 to $440.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. TD Cowen raised Salesforce from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their target price for the stock from $380.00 to $400.00 in a research note on Friday. Loop Capital raised their price target on Salesforce from $340.00 to $360.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on shares of Salesforce from $300.00 to $420.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Erste Group Bank raised shares of Salesforce from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. One investment 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 issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $377.63.

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.