Fisher Funds Management LTD Grows Position in Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Fisher Funds Management LTD boosted its holdings in Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM - Free Report) by 30.1% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 228,977 shares of the CRM provider's stock after purchasing an additional 52,941 shares during the quarter. Salesforce comprises 1.5% of Fisher Funds Management LTD's holdings, making the stock its 20th largest holding. Fisher Funds Management LTD's holdings in Salesforce were worth $61,448,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CRM. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. acquired a new stake in shares of Salesforce in the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Accredited Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Salesforce during the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Wood Tarver Financial Group LLC bought a new position in Salesforce in the fourth quarter worth approximately $35,000. VSM Wealth Advisory LLC acquired a new stake in Salesforce in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $45,000. Finally, Graney & King LLC bought a new stake in shares of Salesforce during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $54,000. 80.43% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on CRM shares. Northland Securities cut their target price on Salesforce from $423.00 to $396.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 29th. Oppenheimer reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $370.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a report on Tuesday, June 10th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on shares of Salesforce from $340.00 to $385.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 29th. DA Davidson reaffirmed an "underperform" rating and issued a $200.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Wednesday, May 28th. Finally, Westpark Capital reissued a "buy" rating and set a $320.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a report on Wednesday, May 28th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, twenty-eight have given a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Salesforce has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $349.08.

Salesforce Stock Performance

NYSE:CRM traded up $2.37 on Friday, reaching $271.58. 5,031,804 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,543,873. The firm has a market cap of $259.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.50, a P/E/G ratio of 2.47 and a beta of 1.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a current ratio of 1.07 and a quick ratio of 1.07. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $272.21 and a 200-day simple moving average of $292.32. Salesforce Inc. has a 52 week low of $230.00 and a 52 week high of $369.00.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 28th. The CRM provider reported $2.58 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.55 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $9.83 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $9.74 billion. Salesforce had a net margin of 16.08% and a return on equity of 12.94%. Salesforce's revenue was up 7.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.44 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Salesforce Inc. will post 7.46 earnings per share for the current year.

Salesforce Cuts Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 10th. Investors of record on Wednesday, June 18th will be paid a dividend of $0.416 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, June 18th. This represents a $1.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.61%. Salesforce's payout ratio is 25.98%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Salesforce

In other Salesforce news, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 261 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $262.35, for a total transaction of $68,473.35. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 12,024 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,154,496.40. The trade was a 2.12% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Miguel Milano sold 405 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $262.35, for a total transaction of $106,251.75. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 9,933 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,605,922.55. This trade represents a 3.92% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 28,534 shares of company stock worth $7,609,842 in the last three months. 3.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.