WT Asset Management Ltd Invests $50.97 Million in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

WT Asset Management Ltd purchased a new stake in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 152,451 shares of the CRM provider’s stock, valued at approximately $50,969,000. Salesforce comprises approximately 5.6% of WT Asset Management Ltd’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 7th biggest position.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Nvest Financial LLC raised its stake in Salesforce by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. Nvest Financial LLC now owns 2,806 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $938,000 after acquiring an additional 31 shares in the last quarter. Sachetta LLC grew its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Sachetta LLC now owns 11,018 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $3,684,000 after purchasing an additional 32 shares during the last quarter. Aviance Capital Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Salesforce by 0.5% during the third quarter. Aviance Capital Partners LLC now owns 6,797 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $1,860,000 after purchasing an additional 33 shares in the last quarter. EWA LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 1.7% in the 3rd quarter. EWA LLC now owns 2,001 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $548,000 after purchasing an additional 33 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Muirfield Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Salesforce by 2.3% in the 4th quarter. Muirfield Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,457 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $487,000 after purchasing an additional 33 shares during the period. 80.43% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Oppenheimer reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $415.00 price objective (up previously from $385.00) on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Salesforce from $275.00 to $360.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $360.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Guggenheim cut shares of Salesforce from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $247.00 target price for the company. in a report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, KeyCorp raised Salesforce from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $440.00 price target on the stock in a report on Friday, December 13th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, thirty-one have given a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $377.63.

Insider Activity at Salesforce

In related news, CFO Amy E. Weaver sold 6,221 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $343.00, for a total transaction of $2,133,803.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 53,861 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,474,323. This represents a 10.35 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 436 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $332.28, for a total value of $144,874.08. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 7,057 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,344,899.96. This trade represents a 5.82 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 1,111,420 shares of company stock valued at $384,366,700. Company insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

Salesforce Price Performance

CRM stock opened at $344.07 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $338.67 and its 200 day moving average price is $298.64. The firm has a market cap of $329.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 56.59, a PEG ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 1.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a current ratio of 1.11. Salesforce, Inc. has a 1 year low of $212.00 and a 1 year high of $369.00.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, December 3rd. The CRM provider reported $2.41 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.44 by ($0.03). The company had revenue of $9.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.35 billion. Salesforce had a net margin of 15.96% and a return on equity of 12.34%. The firm’s revenue was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.62 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 9th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, December 18th were given a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.47%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, December 18th. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio is presently 26.32%.

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.