Raymond James & Associates Boosts Holdings in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Raymond James & Associates lifted its position in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 3.1% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 2,481,638 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 73,450 shares during the quarter. Raymond James & Associates’ holdings in Salesforce were worth $638,029,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in CRM. Marietta Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of Salesforce by 3.2% during the 2nd quarter. Marietta Wealth Management LLC now owns 23,195 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $5,963,000 after buying an additional 723 shares in the last quarter. Boomfish Wealth Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 8.3% in the 2nd quarter. Boomfish Wealth Group LLC now owns 9,274 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $2,384,000 after purchasing an additional 711 shares in the last quarter. Oakworth Capital Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 87.0% during the 2nd quarter. Oakworth Capital Inc. now owns 215 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $55,000 after buying an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Bellecapital International Ltd. boosted its stake in Salesforce by 11.0% in the second quarter. Bellecapital International Ltd. now owns 1,359 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $349,000 after buying an additional 135 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Meridian Financial Partners LLC grew its position in Salesforce by 8.7% during the second quarter. Meridian Financial Partners LLC now owns 4,331 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $1,071,000 after acquiring an additional 346 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.43% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CRM has been the topic of several recent research reports. Truist Financial reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $300.00 target price (down previously from $360.00) on shares of Salesforce in a report on Thursday, May 30th. Evercore ISI decreased their price objective on Salesforce from $330.00 to $300.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 30th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their target price on Salesforce from $350.00 to $300.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 30th. Oppenheimer lowered their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $325.00 to $280.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their price target on shares of Salesforce from $231.00 to $234.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a report on Thursday, May 30th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating, twenty-five have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $291.50.

Salesforce Trading Up 0.0 %

CRM traded up $0.12 during trading on Friday, reaching $262.91. The company had a trading volume of 3,494,863 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,614,657. The company has a quick ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $249.47 and a 200-day simple moving average of $272.92. The stock has a market cap of $254.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 47.29, a PEG ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 1.29. Salesforce, Inc. has a 52 week low of $193.68 and a 52 week high of $318.71.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 29th. The CRM provider reported $2.44 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.38 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $9.13 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.15 billion. Salesforce had a net margin of 15.30% and a return on equity of 11.57%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.15 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 25th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, July 9th were given a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.61%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, July 9th. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 28.78%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Parker Harris sold 4,200 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $254.57, for a total transaction of $1,069,194.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 117,581 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $29,932,595.17. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, insider Srinivas Tallapragada sold 942 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $242.32, for a total value of $228,265.44. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 22,154 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,368,357.28. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Parker Harris sold 4,200 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $254.57, for a total value of $1,069,194.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 117,581 shares in the company, valued at $29,932,595.17. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 187,136 shares of company stock worth $47,935,109 over the last quarter. Company 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.