Convergence Financial LLC Raises Holdings in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Convergence Financial LLC lifted its position in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 48.3% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 5,745 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,870 shares during the quarter. Convergence Financial LLC’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $1,572,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Kathmere Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Salesforce during the 1st quarter worth $227,000. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Salesforce by 60.0% during the first quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. now owns 6,932 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $2,088,000 after buying an additional 2,599 shares during the period. Vicus Capital purchased a new position in shares of Salesforce during the first quarter worth about $556,000. Winthrop Advisory Group LLC increased its position in Salesforce by 2.6% in the 1st quarter. Winthrop Advisory Group LLC now owns 1,953 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $589,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares during the period. Finally, Fox Hill Wealth Management raised its stake in Salesforce by 4.0% during the 1st quarter. Fox Hill Wealth Management now owns 985 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $297,000 after acquiring an additional 38 shares during the last quarter. 80.43% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have weighed in on the company. Citigroup lifted their target price on Salesforce from $260.00 to $290.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, August 26th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $250.00 to $275.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. Phillip Securities restated an “accumulate” rating and issued a $305.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Friday, August 30th. JMP Securities reiterated a “market outperform” rating and set a $342.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Wednesday, August 28th. Finally, Northland Securities upgraded shares of Salesforce from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $270.00 to $400.00 in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-six have assigned a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Salesforce has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $312.51.

Salesforce Stock Performance

CRM stock opened at $290.46 on Friday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $269.73 and a 200 day simple moving average of $263.32. The company has a market capitalization of $281.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 52.24, a PEG ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a quick ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. Salesforce, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $193.68 and a fifty-two week high of $318.71.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 28th. The CRM provider reported $2.56 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.36 by $0.20. The company 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%. Salesforce’s revenue was up 8.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.63 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 8th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, September 18th were issued a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.55%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, September 18th. Salesforce’s payout ratio is 28.78%.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Parker Harris sold 2,800 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $241.22, for a total transaction of $675,416.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 117,581 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $28,362,888.82. This trade 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 Salesforce news, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 413 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $285.29, for a total value of $117,824.77. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 7,006 shares in the company, valued at $1,998,741.74. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Parker Harris sold 2,800 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $241.22, for a total value of $675,416.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 117,581 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $28,362,888.82. 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 quarter, insiders sold 87,781 shares of company stock worth $23,696,593. 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.