Eastover Investment Advisors LLC Has $6.62 Million Stock Holdings in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Eastover Investment Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 16.9% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 24,174 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after buying an additional 3,500 shares during the quarter. Salesforce makes up approximately 3.1% of Eastover Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 21st largest holding. Eastover Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $6,617,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. raised its position 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 valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 56 shares during the last quarter. Piscataqua Savings Bank increased its position in shares of Salesforce by 2,400.0% in 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 increased its position in shares of Salesforce by 816.7% in the 2nd quarter. Clear Investment Research LLC now owns 110 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 98 shares in the last quarter. Red Tortoise LLC bought a new stake in shares of Salesforce in the 1st quarter valued at $33,000. Finally, Stephens Consulting LLC increased its position 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 buying an additional 125 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.43% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Salesforce

In related news, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 413 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 $105,637.14. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 6,431 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,644,921.18. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other Salesforce news, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 413 shares of the firm’s 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 $105,637.14. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 6,431 shares in the company, valued at $1,644,921.18. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, COO Brian Millham sold 8,427 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 2nd. The shares were 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. Insiders have sold 76,412 shares of company stock valued at $20,071,723 over the last three months. 3.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Salesforce Stock Down 1.1 %

Shares of CRM opened at $284.48 on Tuesday. Salesforce, Inc. has a 12 month low of $193.68 and a 12 month high of $318.71. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $258.53 and its 200-day moving average is $264.22. The stock has a market capitalization of $275.66 billion, a PE ratio of 51.17, a P/E/G ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a current ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, August 28th. The CRM provider reported $2.56 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 last year, the firm earned $1.63 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.5% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.54 EPS for the current year.

Salesforce Dividend Announcement

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 paid a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, September 18th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.56%. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 28.78%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CRM has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $265.00 to $305.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market outperform” rating and issued a $342.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Wednesday, August 28th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of Salesforce from $320.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. Truist Financial reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $315.00 target price (up from $300.00) on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. Finally, Loop Capital reaffirmed a “hold” rating and issued a $270.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-seven have assigned a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $310.74.

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.