Austin Asset Management Co Inc Invests $214,000 in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Austin Asset Management Co Inc purchased a new position in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 640 shares of the CRM provider’s stock, valued at approximately $214,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Veritas Asset Management LLP bought a new stake in shares of Salesforce in the 3rd quarter worth about $733,805,000. Jennison Associates LLC raised its position in Salesforce by 52.7% in the 4th quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 4,433,785 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $1,482,347,000 after purchasing an additional 1,530,572 shares during the period. Swedbank AB boosted its position in shares of Salesforce by 46.7% during the fourth quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 3,829,773 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $1,280,408,000 after buying an additional 1,219,254 shares during the period. KBC Group NV grew its stake in shares of Salesforce by 171.2% during the third quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,634,834 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $447,470,000 after buying an additional 1,032,068 shares during the last quarter. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its holdings 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 worth $274,490,000 after buying an additional 998,628 shares during the period. 80.43% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Salesforce Price Performance

Shares of CRM opened at $325.81 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $311.80 billion, a PE ratio of 53.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 1.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 1.11. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $339.05 and its 200-day moving average price is $299.87. Salesforce, Inc. has a 1-year low of $212.00 and a 1-year high of $369.00.

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

Salesforce Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 9th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, December 18th were issued a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.49%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, December 18th. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 26.32%.

Insider Transactions at Salesforce

In other Salesforce news, Director G Mason Morfit sold 722,300 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $346.11, for a total transaction of $249,995,253.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 3,192,009 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,104,786,234.99. This trade represents a 18.45 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Marc Benioff sold 317,105 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $346.78, for a total value of $109,965,671.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 12,162,457 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,217,696,838.46. This trade represents a 2.54 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 1,111,420 shares of company stock worth $384,366,700 over the last 90 days. 3.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CRM has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Wedbush restated an “outperform” rating and set a $425.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Oppenheimer restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $415.00 price target (up from $385.00) on shares of Salesforce in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Northland Securities reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $440.00 price objective (up previously from $400.00) on shares of Salesforce in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Barclays upped their target price on shares of Salesforce from $415.00 to $425.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Truist Financial reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $400.00 price target (up previously from $380.00) on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. One equities research 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 company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Salesforce presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $377.63.

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.