156,404 Shares in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) Bought by Soros Fund Management LLC

Soros Fund Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 156,404 shares of the CRM provider’s stock, valued at approximately $42,809,000.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. State Street Corp raised its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 1.8% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 49,007,404 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $13,432,855,000 after acquiring an additional 864,193 shares during the period. Stevens Capital Management LP purchased a new position in Salesforce during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $5,654,000. Quantinno Capital Management LP raised its stake in Salesforce by 22.3% during the 3rd quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 85,853 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $23,499,000 after purchasing an additional 15,675 shares during the period. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 40.0% during the third quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. now owns 564,917 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $154,623,000 after buying an additional 161,373 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Reynders McVeigh Capital Management LLC raised its position in Salesforce by 4,854.2% during the third quarter. Reynders McVeigh Capital Management LLC now owns 43,597 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $11,933,000 after buying an additional 42,717 shares during the period. 80.43% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Bank of America upped their target price on Salesforce from $390.00 to $440.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on shares of Salesforce from $400.00 to $425.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Northland Capmk upgraded shares of Salesforce from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Erste Group Bank upgraded Salesforce from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Finally, Raymond James boosted their target price on Salesforce from $325.00 to $350.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have issued a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $372.86.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Salesforce news, insider Sabastian Niles sold 2,484 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $244.81, for a total transaction of $608,108.04. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 828 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $202,702.68. This trade represents a 75.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Parker Harris sold 4,200 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $257.04, for a total transaction of $1,079,568.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 117,581 shares in the company, valued at $30,223,020.24. The trade was a 3.45 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 140,982 shares of company stock valued at $41,591,457. Company insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

Salesforce Trading Down 1.8 %

CRM opened at $361.14 on Friday. Salesforce, Inc. has a 1-year low of $212.00 and a 1-year high of $369.00. The stock has a market capitalization of $345.25 billion, a PE ratio of 59.40, a PEG ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a current ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $308.26 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $272.43.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, December 3rd. The CRM provider reported $2.41 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.44 by ($0.03). Salesforce had a return on equity of 12.31% and a net margin of 15.96%. The company had revenue of $9.44 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.35 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.62 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 9th. Investors of record on Wednesday, December 18th will be given a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.44%. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio is currently 26.32%.

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.