Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) Shares Acquired by Ascent Group LLC

Ascent Group LLC increased its stake in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 15.2% in the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 19,556 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after buying an additional 2,581 shares during the quarter. Ascent Group LLC’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $5,028,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. grew its holdings in Salesforce by 186.7% during the first quarter. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. now owns 86 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 56 shares during the period. Piscataqua Savings Bank grew its stake in shares of Salesforce by 2,400.0% in the 2nd quarter. Piscataqua Savings Bank now owns 100 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 96 shares during the last quarter. Clear Investment Research LLC raised its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 816.7% in the 2nd quarter. Clear Investment Research LLC now owns 110 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 98 shares in the last quarter. Red Tortoise LLC acquired a new stake in Salesforce during the first quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Finally, Stephens Consulting LLC boosted its holdings in Salesforce by 3,125.0% during the second quarter. Stephens Consulting LLC now owns 129 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 125 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.43% of the company’s stock.

Salesforce Price Performance

NYSE CRM opened at $276.64 on Friday. Salesforce, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $193.68 and a fifty-two week high of $318.71. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $256.26 and its two-hundred day moving average is $265.30. The firm has a market cap of $268.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 49.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 1.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a current ratio of 1.04 and a quick ratio of 1.04.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 28th. The CRM provider reported $2.56 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.36 by $0.20. The business had revenue of $9.33 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.22 billion. Salesforce had a return on equity of 12.01% and a net margin of 15.44%. The firm’s revenue was up 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.63 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 8th. Investors of record on Wednesday, September 18th will be issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.58%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, September 18th. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio is currently 28.78%.

Insider Activity at Salesforce

In other Salesforce news, Director Maynard G. Webb, Jr. sold 9,170 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $276.32, for a total transaction of $2,533,854.40. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 1,363 shares in the company, valued at $376,624.16. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, insider Parker Harris sold 942 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, September 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $264.78, for a total transaction of $249,422.76. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 118,514 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $31,380,136.92. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Maynard G. Webb, Jr. sold 9,170 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $276.32, for a total transaction of $2,533,854.40. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 1,363 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $376,624.16. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 72,185 shares of company stock worth $18,708,571. 3.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have issued reports on CRM shares. Roth Mkm reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $335.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Raymond James upped their target price on Salesforce from $325.00 to $350.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their price target on Salesforce from $234.00 to $236.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market outperform” rating and set a $342.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Wednesday, August 28th. Finally, Phillip Securities reissued an “accumulate” rating and issued a $305.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Friday, August 30th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-seven have assigned a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $308.03.

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.