Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) Shares Bought by Wright Investors Service Inc.

Wright Investors Service Inc. boosted its position in shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 3.0% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 11,696 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after buying an additional 343 shares during the quarter. Wright Investors Service Inc.’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $3,201,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of CRM. Capital Research Global Investors grew its position in Salesforce by 26.9% in the first 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 during the last quarter. GQG Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Salesforce in the 1st quarter worth $910,220,000. Swedbank AB acquired a new stake in shares of Salesforce during the first quarter worth $874,748,000. Coatue Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Salesforce during the fourth quarter valued at $564,188,000. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its position in shares of Salesforce by 48.3% in the 2nd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 5,906,877 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $1,518,658,000 after purchasing an additional 1,922,674 shares during the period. 80.43% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Salesforce

In other Salesforce news, COO Brian Millham sold 8,427 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $280.00, for a total value of $2,359,560.00. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 413 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $255.78, for a total value of $105,637.14. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 6,431 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,644,921.18. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, COO Brian Millham sold 8,427 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $280.00, for a total transaction of $2,359,560.00. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 80,612 shares of company stock worth $21,133,273. Company insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

Salesforce Stock Performance

Shares of Salesforce stock traded up $6.84 during trading on Friday, reaching $287.75. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 6,131,284 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,543,515. Salesforce, Inc. has a one year low of $193.68 and a one year high of $318.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a current ratio of 1.04. The firm has a market cap of $278.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 51.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 1.30. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $258.53 and its 200-day moving average price is $264.52.

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, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.36 by $0.20. Salesforce had a return on equity of 12.01% and a net margin of 15.44%. The firm had revenue of $9.33 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.22 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.63 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 8.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.54 earnings per share for the current year.

Salesforce Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 8th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, September 18th will be issued 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 dividend yield of 0.56%. Salesforce’s payout ratio is 28.78%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have commented on CRM shares. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $250.00 to $275.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $345.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Friday, September 20th. Northland Capmk upgraded shares of Salesforce from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Robert W. Baird increased their target price on Salesforce from $295.00 to $315.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Finally, Loop Capital reiterated a “hold” rating and set a $270.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a report on Thursday, September 19th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-seven have given a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $310.74.

Salesforce 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.