WT Asset Management Ltd Buys New Stake in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

WT Asset Management Ltd purchased a new stake in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 152,451 shares of the CRM provider’s stock, valued at approximately $50,969,000. Salesforce makes up about 5.6% of WT Asset Management Ltd’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 7th largest holding.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Infrastructure Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Salesforce during the 3rd quarter worth $27,000. Godsey & Gibb Inc. increased its position in shares of Salesforce by 300.0% during the third quarter. Godsey & Gibb Inc. now owns 120 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 90 shares during the last quarter. Annapolis Financial Services LLC lifted its stake in shares of Salesforce by 135.6% in the third quarter. Annapolis Financial Services LLC now owns 139 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $38,000 after acquiring an additional 80 shares in the last quarter. FSA Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Salesforce in the third quarter valued at about $53,000. Finally, Friedenthal Financial acquired a new stake in Salesforce during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $55,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.43% of the company’s stock.

Salesforce Stock Up 1.4 %

Shares of CRM stock opened at $344.07 on Wednesday. Salesforce, Inc. has a 1 year low of $212.00 and a 1 year high of $369.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a current ratio of 1.11. The business’s fifty day moving average is $338.67 and its 200-day moving average is $298.64. The stock has a market cap of $329.28 billion, a PE ratio of 56.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 1.31.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, December 3rd. The CRM provider reported $2.41 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.44 by ($0.03). Salesforce had a return on equity of 12.34% and a net margin of 15.96%. The firm had revenue of $9.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.35 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.62 earnings per share. Salesforce’s revenue was up 8.3% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts expect that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 9th. Investors of record on Wednesday, December 18th were issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.47%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, December 18th. Salesforce’s payout ratio is 26.32%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the company. KeyCorp raised Salesforce from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $440.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $390.00 to $425.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on shares of Salesforce from $340.00 to $430.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Loop Capital increased their price target on shares of Salesforce from $340.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on Salesforce from $360.00 to $400.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, thirty-one have issued a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Salesforce presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $377.63.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO Amy E. Weaver sold 6,221 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction on Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $335.94, for a total value of $2,089,882.74. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 46,750 shares in the company, valued at $15,705,195. The trade was a 11.74 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, COO Brian Millham sold 14,808 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $338.95, for a total value of $5,019,171.60. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 1,111,420 shares of company stock worth $384,366,700. 3.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

About Salesforce

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.