Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) Shares Bought by Creative Planning

Creative Planning lifted its stake in shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 8.0% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 233,743 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after buying an additional 17,350 shares during the quarter. Creative Planning’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $63,978,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CRM. RFG Advisory LLC increased its holdings in Salesforce by 23.4% in the first quarter. RFG Advisory LLC now owns 6,438 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $1,939,000 after buying an additional 1,220 shares during the last quarter. Steph & Co. boosted its position in shares of Salesforce by 127.3% during the 1st quarter. Steph & Co. now owns 150 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $45,000 after acquiring an additional 84 shares in the last quarter. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Salesforce in the 1st quarter valued at about $109,000. CHICAGO TRUST Co NA raised its position in shares of Salesforce by 4.9% during the 1st quarter. CHICAGO TRUST Co NA now owns 5,632 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $1,696,000 after acquiring an additional 261 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Global Trust Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in Salesforce by 40.5% during the first quarter. Global Trust Asset Management LLC now owns 2,670 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $804,000 after purchasing an additional 770 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.43% of the company’s stock.

Salesforce Trading Up 0.6 %

Shares of CRM stock opened at $292.94 on Friday. Salesforce, Inc. has a twelve month low of $193.68 and a twelve month high of $318.71. The company has a market capitalization of $283.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 52.69, a PEG ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 1.30. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $266.65 and a 200 day moving average price of $263.49. The company has a current ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 28th. The CRM provider reported $2.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.36 by $0.20. The business had revenue of $9.33 billion for 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 company’s quarterly revenue was up 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.63 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 8th. Investors of record on Wednesday, September 18th were given a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, September 18th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.55%. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 28.78%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Amy E. Weaver sold 897 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 51,109 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,072,660.02. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other news, CFO Amy E. Weaver sold 897 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 $229,434.66. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 51,109 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,072,660.02. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Parker Harris sold 4,200 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $289.87, for a total value of $1,217,454.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 118,514 shares in the company, valued at $34,353,653.18. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 80,612 shares of company stock valued at $21,429,961. Insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have weighed in on CRM shares. Evercore ISI reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $300.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a report on Monday, August 26th. Loop Capital reiterated a “hold” rating and set a $270.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Salesforce from $250.00 to $275.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. Piper Sandler lowered Salesforce from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, TD Cowen boosted their target price on Salesforce from $285.00 to $290.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-six have given a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $311.66.

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.