Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio lessened its holdings in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM - Free Report) by 0.8% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 422,526 shares of the CRM provider's stock after selling 3,340 shares during the quarter. Salesforce makes up approximately 0.5% of Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio's investment portfolio, making the stock its 29th largest position. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio's holdings in Salesforce were worth $115,650,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.
A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in CRM. Veritas Asset Management LLP bought a new position in Salesforce in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $733,805,000. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its holdings in Salesforce by 48.3% during the 2nd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 5,906,877 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $1,518,658,000 after purchasing an additional 1,922,674 shares during the last quarter. KBC Group NV raised its holdings in Salesforce by 171.2% during the 3rd quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,634,834 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $447,470,000 after purchasing an additional 1,032,068 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in Salesforce by 23,664.2% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,002,848 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $274,490,000 after purchasing an additional 998,628 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Farallon Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Salesforce by 51.0% during the 2nd quarter. Farallon Capital Management LLC now owns 2,946,838 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $757,632,000 after purchasing an additional 994,670 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.43% of the company's stock.
NYSE CRM opened at $361.99 on Monday. Salesforce, Inc. has a one year low of $212.00 and a one year high of $369.00. The business's fifty day moving average is $309.97 and its 200-day moving average is $272.80. The stock has a market capitalization of $346.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 59.54, a PEG ratio of 3.27 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 1.11.
Salesforce (NYSE:CRM - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, December 3rd. The CRM provider reported $2.41 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.44 by ($0.03). The business had revenue of $9.44 billion for 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%. Salesforce's revenue for the quarter was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.62 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.48 EPS for the current year.
The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 9th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, December 18th will be issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.44%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, December 18th. Salesforce's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 26.32%.
Several brokerages have recently commented on CRM. Bank of America raised their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $390.00 to $440.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. JMP Securities reaffirmed a "market outperform" rating and set a $450.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Tuesday, December 3rd. 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. Truist Financial reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $400.00 price objective (up previously from $380.00) on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Erste Group Bank raised shares of Salesforce from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have assigned a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Salesforce presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $372.86.
View Our Latest Stock Analysis on CRM
In other news, insider Sabastian Niles sold 2,484 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $244.81, for a total value of $608,108.04. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 828 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $202,702.68. This represents a 75.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, COO Brian Millham sold 60,522 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $300.00, for a total transaction of $18,156,600.00. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 140,982 shares of company stock valued at $41,591,457 over the last three months. 3.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.
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.
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