ProVise Management Group LLC Boosts Stock Holdings in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

ProVise Management Group LLC lifted its stake in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 1.0% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 5,518 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 56 shares during the period. ProVise Management Group LLC’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $1,419,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Salesforce by 1.2% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 84,635,254 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $25,490,446,000 after buying an additional 1,008,841 shares in the last quarter. Capital World Investors lifted its stake in Salesforce by 2.4% in the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 19,561,325 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $5,147,402,000 after acquiring an additional 457,463 shares during the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in Salesforce by 5.2% in the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 14,905,462 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $3,922,223,000 after acquiring an additional 736,986 shares during the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors grew its holdings in Salesforce by 26.9% during 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 acquiring an additional 3,044,611 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Capital International Investors increased its position in shares of Salesforce by 3.0% in the 1st quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 14,116,449 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $4,251,592,000 after purchasing an additional 407,834 shares during the last quarter. 80.43% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently commented on CRM shares. Wedbush reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $315.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. Loop Capital restated a “hold” rating and issued a $270.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Thursday. UBS Group lifted their target price on Salesforce from $250.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Salesforce from $320.00 to $330.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $300.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Thursday. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-six have given a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $306.00.

Insider Buying and Selling at Salesforce

In other news, COO Brian Millham sold 1,678 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, June 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $242.32, for a total value of $406,612.96. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 1,662 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $402,735.84. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, COO Brian Millham sold 1,678 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, June 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $242.32, for a total value of $406,612.96. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 1,662 shares in the company, valued at approximately $402,735.84. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Parker Harris sold 5,600 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $250.17, for a total value of $1,400,952.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 116,693 shares in the company, valued at approximately $29,193,087.81. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 66,576 shares of company stock valued at $16,957,573 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

Salesforce Stock Performance

NYSE:CRM opened at $265.87 on Friday. Salesforce, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $193.68 and a fifty-two week high of $318.71. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $253.90 and its two-hundred day moving average is $267.00. The company has a market cap of $257.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 47.82, a P/E/G ratio of 2.26 and a beta of 1.29. 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 (NYSE:CRM) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, August 28th. The CRM provider reported $2.56 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.36 by $0.20. The business had revenue of $9.33 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.22 billion. Salesforce had a return on equity of 12.01% and a net margin of 15.44%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 8.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.63 EPS. Analysts expect that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.55 EPS for the current year.

Salesforce Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 8th. Investors 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 payout ratio is 28.78%.

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.