Salesforce's strong stock price wooed some investors during third quarter - filings
Reuters
Published Nov 14, 2023 09:16PM ET
By Svea Herbst-Bayliss
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Boasting a booming share price, Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) attracted more investor cash during the third quarter even as one of the software company's early public critics further cut its stake, according to regulatory filings.
Sachem Head Capital Management increased its stake in Salesforce by 33% during the third quarter while Farallon Capital Management upped its holding by 30% to own 2.5 million shares on September 30, the filings show.
The two hedge funds had each cut their investments in Salesforce during the second quarter.
Salesforce had become a favorite target for activist investors early in 2023 with five prominent corporate agitators, including Elliott Investment Management, pushing publicly and privately for changes.
Cost cuts, a boost in share buybacks and the dismantlement of its mergers and acquisition committee, plus stronger earnings increased investor backing. And news that one of the activists, Mason Morfit who runs ValueAct Capital, was invited onto the board helped silence some critics, people familiar with the discussions said.
Salesforce's stock price has surged 64% since January.
Still Starboard Value the first activist to speak publicly in October 2022 about needed changes at Salesforce cut its stake again, the filings show. On Sept. 30, the hedge fund owned 1.7 million shares, marking a 14% drop from what it owned at the end of the second quarter. In the second quarter, it cut its stake by 20%.
Investment managers must disclose what they hold in U.S. stocks at the end of each quarter and report that information to the Securities and Exchange Commission 45 days after the end of the quarter. The deadline for so-called 13-F filings for the third quarter is on Tuesday.
While 13-F filings are backward-looking, they are closely watched by investors for trends.
Other investors who may not have been pushing for changes also reduced their holdings during the third quarter. Light Street Capital Management cut its stake by 44%, while Polen Capital Management trimmed it by 3.2%, the filings show.
Activist investors, unlike some mutual funds, often cut their positions quickly after finding success or failure in their efforts to secure changes.
Get The News You Want
While Salesforce's stock price lost some ground during the third quarter, it has continued to move higher and closed trading at $221.18 on Tuesday.
Written By: Reuters
Trading in financial instruments and/or cryptocurrencies involves high risks including the risk of losing some, or all, of your investment amount, and may not be suitable for all investors. Prices of cryptocurrencies are extremely volatile and may be affected by external factors such as financial, regulatory or political events. Trading on margin increases the financial risks.
Before deciding to trade in financial instrument or cryptocurrencies you should be fully informed of the risks and costs associated with trading the financial markets, carefully consider your investment objectives, level of experience, and risk appetite, and seek professional advice where needed.
Fusion Media would like to remind you that the data contained in this website is not necessarily real-time nor accurate. The data and prices on the website are not necessarily provided by any market or exchange, but may be provided by market makers, and so prices may not be accurate and may differ from the actual price at any given market, meaning prices are indicative and not appropriate for trading purposes. Fusion Media and any provider of the data contained in this website will not accept liability for any loss or damage as a result of your trading, or your reliance on the information contained within this website.
It is prohibited to use, store, reproduce, display, modify, transmit or distribute the data contained in this website without the explicit prior written permission of Fusion Media and/or the data provider. All intellectual property rights are reserved by the providers and/or the exchange providing the data contained in this website.
Fusion Media may be compensated by the advertisers that appear on the website, based on your interaction with the advertisements or advertisers.