Beaton Management Co. Inc. Grows Holdings in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Beaton Management Co. Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 2.9% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,575 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 44 shares during the quarter. Beaton Management Co. Inc.’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $405,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Waters Parkerson & CO. LLC lifted its holdings in Salesforce by 17.5% during the 2nd quarter. Waters Parkerson & CO. LLC now owns 1,757 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $452,000 after buying an additional 262 shares in the last quarter. Bridges Investment Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Salesforce by 263.7% during the second quarter. Bridges Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,714 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $1,212,000 after acquiring an additional 3,418 shares during the period. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board raised its stake in shares of Salesforce by 54.3% during the second quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 1,912,075 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $491,594,000 after acquiring an additional 672,979 shares in the last quarter. Davidson Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 62.9% in the second quarter. Davidson Capital Management Inc. now owns 13,156 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $3,382,000 after purchasing an additional 5,079 shares during the period. Finally, Joseph Group Capital Management grew its stake in Salesforce by 1.6% in the second quarter. Joseph Group Capital Management now owns 7,181 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $1,846,000 after purchasing an additional 111 shares in the last quarter. 80.43% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have weighed in on CRM. Phillip Securities reaffirmed an “accumulate” rating and set a $305.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Friday, August 30th. DA Davidson upped their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $230.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on shares of Salesforce from $265.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price target on shares of Salesforce from $360.00 to $350.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 30th. Finally, Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $355.00 to $305.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-six have issued a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $306.00.

Insider Activity at Salesforce

In other news, insider Parker Harris sold 4,200 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $262.97, for a total transaction of $1,104,474.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 117,581 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $30,920,275.57. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, insider Parker Harris sold 4,200 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $262.97, for a total transaction of $1,104,474.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 117,581 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $30,920,275.57. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, 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 completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 51,109 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,072,660.02. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 66,576 shares of company stock worth $16,957,573 in the last three months. Company insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

Salesforce Price Performance

NYSE:CRM opened at $265.87 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $253.90 and its two-hundred day moving average is $267.00. The firm has a market cap of $257.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 47.82, a PEG ratio of 2.26 and a beta of 1.29. 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.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last posted 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. The firm 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%. Salesforce’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.63 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.55 EPS for the current year.

Salesforce Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced 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. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.60%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, September 18th. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.