Ted Buchan & Co Takes Position in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Ted Buchan & Co bought a new stake in shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 3,388 shares of the CRM provider’s stock, valued at approximately $871,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Fox Hill Wealth Management raised its position in shares of Salesforce by 4.0% in the 1st quarter. Fox Hill Wealth Management now owns 985 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $297,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares during the last quarter. Pinnacle Wealth Planning Services Inc. raised its position in Salesforce by 0.8% in the 1st quarter. Pinnacle Wealth Planning Services Inc. now owns 4,946 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $1,490,000 after buying an additional 38 shares during the last quarter. Blue Barn Wealth LLC raised its position in Salesforce by 1.8% in the 1st quarter. Blue Barn Wealth LLC now owns 2,207 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $665,000 after buying an additional 39 shares during the last quarter. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC raised its position in Salesforce by 0.8% in the 2nd quarter. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC now owns 4,876 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $1,254,000 after buying an additional 39 shares during the last quarter. Finally, DSC Advisors L.P. raised its position in Salesforce by 3.1% in the 2nd quarter. DSC Advisors L.P. now owns 1,302 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $335,000 after buying an additional 39 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.43% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Parker Harris sold 4,200 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $252.75, for a total transaction of $1,061,550.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 116,693 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $29,494,155.75. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, insider Parker Harris sold 4,200 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $252.75, for a total value of $1,061,550.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 116,693 shares in the company, valued at $29,494,155.75. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Amy E. Weaver sold 897 shares of the firm’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 $229,434.66. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 51,109 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,072,660.02. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 67,985 shares of company stock worth $17,632,363. Company insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on Salesforce from $295.00 to $315.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. Bank of America reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $325.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Friday, September 6th. Erste Group Bank reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Wednesday, September 11th. Citigroup upped their price target on shares of Salesforce from $260.00 to $290.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, August 26th. Finally, BNP Paribas raised shares of Salesforce to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-seven have given a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $308.03.

Salesforce Stock Performance

CRM stock opened at $273.68 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $256.65 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $264.81. Salesforce, Inc. has a twelve month low of $193.68 and a twelve month high of $318.71. The firm has a market cap of $265.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 49.22, a PEG ratio of 2.39 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 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 business 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 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.54 earnings per share for the current year.

Salesforce Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 8th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, September 18th will be paid 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 0.58%. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio is currently 28.78%.

About Salesforce

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.