ProShare Advisors LLC Grows Stake in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

ProShare Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 8.7% in the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 296,331 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 23,750 shares during the period. ProShare Advisors LLC’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $76,187,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 56 shares in the last quarter. Piscataqua Savings Bank grew its stake in 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 acquiring an additional 96 shares in the last quarter. Red Tortoise LLC purchased a new stake in Salesforce during the 1st quarter valued at about $33,000. Clear Investment Research LLC grew its stake in Salesforce by 816.7% during the 2nd quarter. Clear Investment Research LLC now owns 110 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 98 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Stephens Consulting LLC grew its stake in Salesforce by 3,125.0% during the 2nd quarter. Stephens Consulting LLC now owns 129 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 125 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.43% of the company’s stock.

Salesforce Trading Up 0.3 %

Shares of NYSE:CRM opened at $266.80 on Monday. Salesforce, Inc. has a 52 week low of $193.68 and a 52 week high of $318.71. The company’s 50 day moving average is $254.14 and its two-hundred day moving average is $266.18. The company has a current ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. The company has a market cap of $258.53 billion, a PE ratio of 47.99, a P/E/G ratio of 2.26 and a beta of 1.29.

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

Salesforce Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $355.00 to $305.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $250.00 to $275.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. Loop Capital reaffirmed a “hold” rating and set a $270.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Thursday. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $300.00 to $320.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. Finally, DA Davidson boosted their target price on shares of Salesforce from $230.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-six have assigned a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $306.00.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Amy E. Weaver sold 897 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $255.78, for a total transaction of $229,434.66. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 51,109 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,072,660.02. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, CFO Amy E. Weaver sold 897 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $255.78, for a total transaction of $229,434.66. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 51,109 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,072,660.02. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Parker Harris sold 2,800 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $241.22, for a total transaction of $675,416.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 117,581 shares in the company, valued at $28,362,888.82. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 63,891 shares of company stock worth $16,306,944 in the last ninety days. 3.20% of the stock is owned by corporate 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.