Fairtree Asset Management Pty Ltd Makes New Investment in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Fairtree Asset Management Pty Ltd purchased a new position in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm purchased 1,288 shares of the CRM provider's stock, valued at approximately $431,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Athena Investment Management bought a new position in shares of Salesforce during the 4th quarter valued at about $236,000. Highland Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Salesforce during the 4th quarter worth approximately $4,321,000. Jag Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Salesforce by 2,507.9% in the fourth quarter. Jag Capital Management LLC now owns 23,706 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $7,926,000 after buying an additional 22,797 shares in the last quarter. Lecap Asset Management Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Salesforce in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $2,861,000. Finally, Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp increased its position in shares of Salesforce by 2.7% during the fourth quarter. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp now owns 27,358 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $9,146,000 after acquiring an additional 723 shares in the last quarter. 80.43% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently commented on CRM. Scotiabank cut their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $400.00 to $345.00 and set a "sector outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 17th. Macquarie restated a "neutral" rating and set a $320.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. Loop Capital cut their target price on shares of Salesforce from $330.00 to $300.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price target on Salesforce from $425.00 to $375.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 31st. Finally, Citigroup restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Wednesday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating, thirty-two have issued a buy rating and five have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $348.59.

Salesforce Trading Down 0.8%

Salesforce stock traded down $2.12 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $275.07. The stock had a trading volume of 12,346,453 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,949,523. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $268.16 and its 200-day simple moving average is $305.79. Salesforce, Inc. has a one year low of $212.00 and a one year high of $369.00. The stock has a market cap of $264.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 45.24, a P/E/G ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 1.42. The company has a quick ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 28th. The CRM provider reported $2.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.54 by $0.04. Salesforce had a return on equity of 12.34% and a net margin of 15.96%. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.44 earnings per share. Salesforce's revenue was up 7.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts predict that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.46 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 24th. Investors of record on Thursday, April 10th were paid a $0.42 dividend. This is a boost from Salesforce's previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 10th. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.61%. Salesforce's payout ratio is currently 26.10%.

Insider Activity at Salesforce

In other news, insider R David Schmaier sold 6,959 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $253.31, for a total value of $1,762,784.29. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 36,090 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $9,141,957.90. This represents a 16.17% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Parker Harris sold 3,273 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $284.58, for a total transaction of $931,430.34. Following the sale, the insider now owns 125,146 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $35,614,048.68. This trade represents a 2.55% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 46,553 shares of company stock worth $12,897,323 over the last three months. Company 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.