Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) Stake Raised by Holderness Investments Co.

Holderness Investments Co. grew its holdings in shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 22.1% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,373 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 430 shares during the period. Holderness Investments Co.’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $610,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in CRM. Gilbert & Cook Inc. lifted its position in shares of Salesforce by 6.9% during the 4th quarter. Gilbert & Cook Inc. now owns 5,659 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $1,489,000 after acquiring an additional 366 shares during the last quarter. Aveo Capital Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 44.7% during the fourth quarter. Aveo Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,605 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $422,000 after purchasing an additional 496 shares during the last quarter. 9258 Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 24.0% during the fourth quarter. 9258 Wealth Management LLC now owns 6,483 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $1,706,000 after purchasing an additional 1,253 shares during the last quarter. Gryphon Financial Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Salesforce by 32.4% in the 4th quarter. Gryphon Financial Partners LLC now owns 3,960 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $1,064,000 after purchasing an additional 970 shares during the period. Finally, TrinityPoint Wealth LLC increased its stake in Salesforce by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. TrinityPoint Wealth LLC now owns 8,036 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $2,115,000 after purchasing an additional 133 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.43% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 413 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $255.78, for a total value of $105,637.14. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 6,431 shares in the company, valued at $1,644,921.18. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, insider Parker Harris sold 4,200 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $257.04, for a total value of $1,079,568.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 117,581 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $30,223,020.24. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 413 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $255.78, for a total transaction of $105,637.14. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 6,431 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,644,921.18. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 66,576 shares of company stock worth $16,957,573. 3.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Salesforce Trading Up 0.3 %

Salesforce stock opened at $266.80 on Friday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $254.14 and its 200-day simple moving average is $266.44. Salesforce, Inc. has a 52 week low of $193.68 and a 52 week high of $318.71. The firm has a market capitalization of $258.53 billion, a PE ratio of 47.99, a PEG ratio of 2.26 and a beta of 1.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a current ratio of 1.04.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 12.01% and a net margin of 15.44%. The company had revenue of $9.33 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.22 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.63 earnings per share. Salesforce’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Salesforce Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

CRM has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Wedbush reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $315.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Canaccord Genuity Group lifted their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $300.00 to $315.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. Oppenheimer increased their target price on Salesforce from $280.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Macquarie lowered their price target on Salesforce from $330.00 to $275.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 31st. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on Salesforce from $300.00 to $320.00 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 issued a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently 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.