SPC Financial Inc. Purchases 456 Shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

SPC Financial Inc. raised its holdings in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 31.1% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,924 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after buying an additional 456 shares during the quarter. SPC Financial Inc.’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $495,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have issued reports on the company. FBN Securities upgraded Salesforce to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. Canaccord Genuity Group lifted their price target on shares of Salesforce from $300.00 to $315.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 29th. TD Cowen boosted their price target on shares of Salesforce from $285.00 to $290.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. Evercore ISI reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $300.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a report on Monday, August 26th. Finally, Phillip Securities reissued an “accumulate” rating and issued a $305.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a report on Friday, August 30th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-seven have assigned a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Salesforce presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $308.03.

Salesforce Stock Performance

Shares of CRM stock opened at $270.87 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $262.47 billion, a PE ratio of 48.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 1.29. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $256.95 and a 200-day moving average of $264.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a current ratio of 1.04 and a quick ratio of 1.04. Salesforce, Inc. has a one year low of $193.68 and a one year high of $318.71.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, August 28th. The CRM provider reported $2.56 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.36 by $0.20. The firm had revenue of $9.33 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.22 billion. Salesforce had a net margin of 15.44% and a return on equity of 12.01%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 8.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.63 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.54 earnings per share for the current year.

Salesforce Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 8th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, September 18th will be issued 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 0.59%. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio is presently 28.78%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Maynard G. Webb, Jr. sold 9,170 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $276.32, for a total transaction of $2,533,854.40. Following the sale, the director now owns 1,363 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $376,624.16. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, Director Maynard G. Webb, Jr. sold 9,170 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $276.32, for a total transaction of $2,533,854.40. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 1,363 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $376,624.16. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 413 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $255.78, for a total transaction of $105,637.14. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 6,431 shares in the company, valued at $1,644,921.18. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 67,985 shares of company stock worth $17,632,363. Corporate insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

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.