Epoch Investment Partners Inc. Acquires 111,020 Shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Epoch Investment Partners Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 20.0% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 665,019 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 111,020 shares during the quarter. Epoch Investment Partners Inc. owned about 0.07% of Salesforce worth $170,976,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 186.7% during the 1st 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 last quarter. Piscataqua Savings Bank raised its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 2,400.0% during the 2nd quarter. Piscataqua Savings Bank now owns 100 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 96 shares in the last quarter. Clear Investment Research LLC boosted its stake in Salesforce by 816.7% in the second quarter. Clear Investment Research LLC now owns 110 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 98 shares in the last quarter. Red Tortoise LLC purchased a new position in shares of Salesforce during the first quarter worth approximately $33,000. Finally, Stephens Consulting LLC boosted its stake in shares of Salesforce by 3,125.0% in the 2nd quarter. Stephens Consulting LLC now owns 129 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 125 shares in the last quarter. 80.43% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Salesforce Trading Up 0.3 %

Shares of NYSE:CRM opened at $266.80 on Friday. 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, Inc. has a 1 year low of $193.68 and a 1 year high of $318.71. The company has a market cap of $258.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 47.99, a PEG ratio of 2.26 and a beta of 1.29. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $254.14 and its 200-day moving average price is $266.44.

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 company had revenue of $9.33 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.22 billion. Salesforce had a net margin of 15.44% and a return on equity of 12.01%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.63 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Salesforce Announces Dividend

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 given a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.60%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, September 18th. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 28.78%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CRM has been the topic of several analyst reports. BNP Paribas upgraded Salesforce to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 29th. TD Cowen lifted their target price 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. Citigroup increased their price target on shares of Salesforce from $260.00 to $290.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, August 26th. FBN Securities upgraded shares of Salesforce to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. Finally, Roth Mkm reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $335.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-six have given a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $306.00.

Insider Buying and Selling at Salesforce

In other Salesforce news, insider Parker Harris sold 4,200 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $262.97, for a total transaction of $1,104,474.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 117,581 shares in the company, valued at approximately $30,920,275.57. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, insider Parker Harris sold 4,200 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $262.97, for a total transaction of $1,104,474.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 117,581 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $30,920,275.57. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Srinivas Tallapragada sold 942 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the insider now owns 22,154 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,368,357.28. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 66,576 shares of company stock valued at $16,957,573. 3.20% of the stock is 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.