Thrivent Financial for Lutherans Raises Stock Position in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans raised its stake in shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 9.2% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 819,088 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 68,803 shares during the quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans owned approximately 0.08% of Salesforce worth $210,588,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Salesforce news, insider Parker Harris sold 4,200 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $257.04, for a total transaction of $1,079,568.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 117,581 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $30,223,020.24. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other Salesforce news, insider Srinivas Tallapragada sold 942 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $242.32, for a total transaction of $228,265.44. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 22,154 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,368,357.28. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Parker Harris sold 4,200 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $257.04, for a total transaction of $1,079,568.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 117,581 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $30,223,020.24. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 66,576 shares of company stock valued at $16,957,573. 3.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Salesforce Trading Up 0.2 %

Salesforce stock opened at $266.57 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $254.14 and a 200 day moving average of $266.67. The firm has a market capitalization of $258.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 47.94, a P/E/G ratio of 2.26 and a beta of 1.29. Salesforce, Inc. has a 12-month low of $193.68 and a 12-month high of $318.71. The company has a current ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, August 28th. The CRM provider reported $2.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.36 by $0.20. The company had revenue of $9.33 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.22 billion. Salesforce had a net margin of 15.44% and a return on equity of 12.01%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.63 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Salesforce Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 8th. Investors of record on Wednesday, September 18th will be issued a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.60%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, September 18th. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio is 28.78%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CRM has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on shares of Salesforce from $265.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. TD Cowen upped their price target on shares of Salesforce from $285.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. Phillip Securities reiterated an “accumulate” rating and issued a $305.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Friday, August 30th. Citigroup upped their price target on shares of Salesforce from $260.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, August 26th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group upped their price target on shares of Salesforce from $300.00 to $315.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating 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 given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $306.00.

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.