Metis Global Partners LLC Has $14.46 Million Position in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Metis Global Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 15.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 54,937 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 7,273 shares during the quarter. Salesforce accounts for 0.6% of Metis Global Partners LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 28th largest holding. Metis Global Partners LLC’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $14,456,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. Valley Brook Capital Group Inc. grew its stake in Salesforce by 5.1% during the fourth quarter. Valley Brook Capital Group Inc. now owns 4,054 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $1,067,000 after buying an additional 195 shares during the last quarter. Sheets Smith Wealth Management increased its holdings in Salesforce by 20.8% during the 4th quarter. Sheets Smith Wealth Management now owns 2,480 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $653,000 after purchasing an additional 427 shares in the last quarter. W.H. Cornerstone Investments Inc. bought a new position in Salesforce in the 4th quarter valued at $278,000. Clearstead Trust LLC boosted its stake in Salesforce by 19.9% in the fourth quarter. Clearstead Trust LLC now owns 11,912 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $3,135,000 after purchasing an additional 1,976 shares in the last quarter. Finally, River Global Investors LLP boosted its stake in Salesforce by 23.5% in the fourth quarter. River Global Investors LLP now owns 7,971 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $2,098,000 after purchasing an additional 1,518 shares in the last quarter. 80.43% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Salesforce Stock Up 0.6 %

Shares of NYSE CRM traded up $1.53 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $273.66. The company had a trading volume of 4,041,636 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,219,539. Salesforce, Inc. has a one year low of $190.76 and a one year high of $318.71. The company has a market capitalization of $264.90 billion, a PE ratio of 65.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a current ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $294.23 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $267.00.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 28th. The CRM provider reported $1.78 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.72 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $9.29 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.22 billion. Salesforce had a return on equity of 10.42% and a net margin of 11.87%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.01 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts expect that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.45 EPS for the current year.

Salesforce Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 11th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 14th were given a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.58%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 13th. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 9.52%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on shares of Salesforce from $325.00 to $335.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 29th. Stifel Nicolaus reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $350.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Citigroup boosted their target price on Salesforce from $265.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, February 26th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Salesforce from $280.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 21st. Finally, Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on shares of Salesforce from $310.00 to $355.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 29th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-four have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $310.61.

Insider Activity

In other Salesforce news, COO Brian Millham sold 24,453 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $302.08, for a total transaction of $7,386,762.24. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other news, COO Brian Millham sold 24,453 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $302.08, for a total transaction of $7,386,762.24. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 2,425 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $273.15, for a total value of $662,388.75. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 5,856 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,599,566.40. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 629,993 shares of company stock valued at $184,255,474 over the last three months. Insiders own 3.70% of the company’s stock.

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.