Point72 Europe London LLP Purchases Shares of 64,400 Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Point72 Europe London LLP acquired a new stake in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 64,400 shares of the CRM provider’s stock, valued at approximately $17,627,000. Salesforce accounts for approximately 1.1% of Point72 Europe London LLP’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 21st largest position.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of CRM. Veritas Asset Management LLP acquired a new stake in Salesforce during the third quarter worth about $733,805,000. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its holdings in Salesforce by 48.3% in the second quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 5,906,877 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $1,518,658,000 after purchasing an additional 1,922,674 shares during the period. AMF Tjanstepension AB grew its holdings in Salesforce by 376.1% in the second quarter. AMF Tjanstepension AB now owns 1,442,453 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $370,873,000 after purchasing an additional 1,139,472 shares during the period. KBC Group NV lifted its position in shares of Salesforce by 171.2% in the third 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 in the last quarter. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Salesforce by 23,664.2% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,002,848 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $274,490,000 after acquiring an additional 998,628 shares in the last quarter. 80.43% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Amy E. Weaver sold 897 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owns 52,930 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,100,399.70. The trade was a 1.67 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Miguel Milano sold 719 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $342.81, for a total value of $246,480.39. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 4,659 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,597,151.79. The trade was a 13.37 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 144,510 shares of company stock valued at $42,475,538 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

Salesforce Trading Down 0.0 %

CRM opened at $329.99 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $315.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 57.39, a PEG ratio of 2.99 and a beta of 1.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a current ratio of 1.04 and a quick ratio of 1.04. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $302.12 and a 200 day moving average price of $270.65. Salesforce, Inc. has a 12 month low of $212.00 and a 12 month high of $348.86.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 28th. The CRM provider reported $2.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.36 by $0.20. The company had revenue of $9.33 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.22 billion. Salesforce had a return on equity of 12.01% and a net margin of 15.44%. Salesforce’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.63 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 8th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, September 18th were issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.48%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, September 18th. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 27.83%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently commented on CRM shares. JMP Securities lifted their price objective on Salesforce from $342.00 to $450.00 and gave the stock a “market outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. Raymond James lifted their price objective on Salesforce from $325.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. DA Davidson lifted their price objective on Salesforce from $230.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Salesforce from $320.00 to $330.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. Finally, Bank of America lifted their target price on Salesforce from $325.00 to $390.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-eight have given a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $341.89.

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.