Richardson Financial Services Inc. Trims Stake in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Richardson Financial Services Inc. decreased its position in shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 3.0% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,726 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after selling 54 shares during the period. Richardson Financial Services Inc.’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $444,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Spartan Planning & Wealth Management grew its position in Salesforce by 66.3% during the 4th quarter. Spartan Planning & Wealth Management now owns 1,567 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $412,000 after purchasing an additional 625 shares during the last quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC increased its position in Salesforce by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC now owns 5,951,415 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $1,566,055,000 after acquiring an additional 18,397 shares during the period. TD Asset Management Inc raised its stake in Salesforce by 32.6% during the 4th quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 789,525 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $207,756,000 after acquiring an additional 194,224 shares during the last quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC lifted its position in Salesforce by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC now owns 7,160 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $1,983,000 after acquiring an additional 95 shares during the period. Finally, XN LP grew its stake in shares of Salesforce by 24.2% in the 2nd quarter. XN LP now owns 464,489 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $119,420,000 after purchasing an additional 90,616 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.43% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on CRM shares. Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $295.00 to $315.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. Raymond James boosted their price target on shares of Salesforce from $325.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. Phillip Securities restated an “accumulate” rating and issued a $305.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Friday, August 30th. Evercore ISI reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $300.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Monday, August 26th. Finally, Wedbush restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $315.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-six have given a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $305.55.

Salesforce Trading Down 1.1 %

Shares of CRM stock opened at $252.42 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. Salesforce, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $193.68 and a fifty-two week high of $318.71. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $253.60 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $267.01. The stock has a market cap of $244.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 45.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.26 and a beta of 1.29.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, August 28th. The CRM provider reported $2.56 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.36 by $0.20. Salesforce had a net margin of 15.44% and a return on equity of 12.01%. The business had revenue of $9.33 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.22 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.63 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 8.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts anticipate that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.55 EPS for the current year.

Salesforce Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 8th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, September 18th will be paid a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, September 18th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.63%. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 28.78%.

Insider Activity at Salesforce

In related news, Director Oscar Munoz purchased 2,051 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, June 21st. The stock was purchased at an average price of $243.69 per share, for a total transaction of $499,808.19. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 7,026 shares in the company, valued at $1,712,165.94. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other Salesforce news, insider Srinivas Tallapragada sold 942 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $242.32, for a total value of $228,265.44. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 22,154 shares in the company, valued at $5,368,357.28. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Oscar Munoz bought 2,051 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 21st. The shares were bought at an average cost of $243.69 per share, with a total value of $499,808.19. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 7,026 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,712,165.94. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 66,576 shares of company stock worth $16,957,573. 3.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Salesforce Company Profile

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.