Franklin Street Advisors Inc. NC Boosts Position in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Franklin Street Advisors Inc. NC increased its stake in shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 15.4% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 72,993 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after buying an additional 9,768 shares during the period. Salesforce comprises 1.3% of Franklin Street Advisors Inc. NC’s portfolio, making the stock its 26th largest holding. Franklin Street Advisors Inc. NC’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $19,979,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of CRM. Spartan Planning & Wealth Management grew its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 66.3% during the 4th quarter. Spartan Planning & Wealth Management now owns 1,567 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $412,000 after acquiring an additional 625 shares in the last quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC grew its holdings in Salesforce by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC now owns 7,160 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $1,983,000 after acquiring an additional 95 shares during the period. XN LP grew its holdings in Salesforce by 24.2% during the second quarter. XN LP now owns 464,489 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $119,420,000 after purchasing an additional 90,616 shares during the period. Atomi Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in Salesforce by 27.5% in the 3rd quarter. Atomi Financial Group Inc. now owns 11,999 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $3,284,000 after acquiring an additional 2,589 shares in the last quarter. Finally, M&G Plc bought a new stake in Salesforce during the 1st quarter worth about $2,178,000. 80.43% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Salesforce

In related news, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 413 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 value of $105,637.14. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 6,431 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,644,921.18. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 413 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 value of $105,637.14. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 6,431 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,644,921.18. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Amy E. Weaver sold 897 shares of the business’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 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 80,612 shares of company stock worth $21,283,087 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently issued reports on the stock. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on shares of Salesforce from $265.00 to $305.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. Erste Group Bank reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Wednesday, September 11th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Salesforce from $320.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $300.00 to $310.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. Finally, JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market outperform” rating and issued a $342.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a report on Wednesday, August 28th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-seven have issued a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $310.74.

Salesforce Stock Down 0.5 %

Shares of Salesforce stock traded down $1.35 on Friday, hitting $288.82. 196,627 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 6,474,034. Salesforce, Inc. has a 52-week low of $193.68 and a 52-week high of $318.71. 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 stock has a market cap of $276.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 50.46, a PEG ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 1.30. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $261.04 and its 200 day moving average is $264.29.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 28th. The CRM provider reported $2.56 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.36 by $0.20. Salesforce had a net margin of 15.44% and a return on equity of 12.01%. The company had revenue of $9.33 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.22 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.63 EPS. Salesforce’s revenue was up 8.5% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts anticipate that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Salesforce Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 8th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, September 18th were paid a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, September 18th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.55%. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio is presently 27.83%.

Salesforce 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.