Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) Shares Bought by Northeast Financial Consultants Inc

Northeast Financial Consultants Inc lifted its position in shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 14.1% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 16,628 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,055 shares during the quarter. Northeast Financial Consultants Inc’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $4,275,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Capital International Investors grew its holdings in Salesforce by 76.4% in the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 13,708,615 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $3,607,493,000 after purchasing an additional 5,935,973 shares during the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors boosted its position in shares of Salesforce by 26.9% in the 1st quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 14,376,536 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $4,329,925,000 after buying an additional 3,044,611 shares in the last quarter. GQG Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Salesforce in the 1st quarter valued at about $910,220,000. Swedbank AB purchased a new position in Salesforce during the 1st quarter valued at about $874,748,000. Finally, Coatue Management LLC acquired a new position in Salesforce during the fourth quarter worth about $564,188,000. 80.43% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Amy E. Weaver sold 897 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $255.78, for a total value of $229,434.66. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 51,109 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,072,660.02. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, CFO Amy E. Weaver sold 897 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $255.78, for a total transaction of $229,434.66. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 51,109 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,072,660.02. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Maynard G. Webb, Jr. sold 9,170 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $276.32, for a total value 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 72,185 shares of company stock valued at $18,708,571 over the last 90 days. 3.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently issued reports on CRM. Raymond James upped their target price on Salesforce from $325.00 to $350.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Salesforce from $250.00 to $275.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. 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 research note on Thursday, August 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Salesforce from $300.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. Finally, Erste Group Bank reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Wednesday, September 11th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-seven have given a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $308.03.

Salesforce Trading Up 0.3 %

NYSE:CRM opened at $276.64 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. Salesforce, Inc. has a twelve month low of $193.68 and a twelve month high of $318.71. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $256.26 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $265.30. The company 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.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, August 28th. The CRM provider reported $2.56 earnings per share (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 analysts’ expectations of $9.22 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.63 EPS. Salesforce’s quarterly revenue was up 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts expect that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 8th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, September 18th will be given a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, September 18th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.58%. Salesforce’s payout ratio is presently 28.78%.

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.