GM Advisory Group LLC Takes Position in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

GM Advisory Group LLC bought a new stake in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 882 shares of the CRM provider’s stock, valued at approximately $227,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of CRM. Capital International Investors increased its holdings in shares of 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 period. Capital Research Global Investors increased its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 26.9% in the first quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 14,376,536 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $4,329,925,000 after purchasing an additional 3,044,611 shares during the period. GQG Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Salesforce in the first quarter valued at approximately $910,220,000. Swedbank AB acquired a new position in shares of Salesforce in the first quarter valued at approximately $874,748,000. Finally, Coatue Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Salesforce in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $564,188,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.43% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on CRM. DA Davidson boosted their target price on Salesforce from $230.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Macquarie dropped their price objective on Salesforce from $330.00 to $275.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Salesforce from $300.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Mizuho dropped their price objective on Salesforce from $345.00 to $300.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 30th. Finally, TD Cowen upped their price objective on Salesforce from $285.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-six have assigned a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $306.00.

Salesforce Stock Up 0.2 %

Shares of NYSE:CRM opened at $266.57 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 52-week low of $193.68 and a 52-week high of $318.71. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $254.14 and its 200-day simple moving average is $266.67. The company has a market capitalization of $258.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 47.94, a P/E/G ratio of 2.26 and a beta of 1.29.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last released 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. 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 the consensus estimate of $9.22 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.63 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 8th. Investors 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.60%. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 28.78%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Parker Harris sold 4,200 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 117,581 shares in the company, valued at $30,920,275.57. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other Salesforce news, insider Parker Harris sold 4,200 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 117,581 shares in the company, valued at $30,920,275.57. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 413 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 23rd. The stock was 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 66,576 shares of company stock worth $16,957,573. 3.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.