Harfst & Associates Inc. Buys 1,553 Shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Harfst & Associates Inc. increased its stake in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 28.0% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 7,093 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after buying an additional 1,553 shares during the quarter. Harfst & Associates Inc.’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $1,941,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. raised its position in Salesforce by 186.7% in the 1st quarter. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. now owns 86 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 56 shares during the period. Piscataqua Savings Bank raised its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 2,400.0% in the second quarter. Piscataqua Savings Bank now owns 100 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 96 shares during the period. Clear Investment Research LLC lifted its stake in shares of Salesforce by 816.7% during the 2nd quarter. Clear Investment Research LLC now owns 110 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 98 shares during the last quarter. Red Tortoise LLC purchased a new position in Salesforce during the 1st quarter valued at $33,000. Finally, Stephens Consulting LLC boosted its holdings in Salesforce by 3,125.0% during the 2nd quarter. Stephens Consulting LLC now owns 129 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 125 shares during the period. 80.43% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Salesforce Stock Performance

CRM stock traded up $1.83 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $292.94. The stock had a trading volume of 3,087,902 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,414,292. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $266.65 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $263.77. Salesforce, Inc. has a 52-week low of $193.68 and a 52-week high of $318.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a current ratio of 1.04. The stock has a market cap of $283.86 billion, a PE ratio of 52.71, a P/E/G ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 1.30.

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, topping the consensus estimate of $2.36 by $0.20. The firm had revenue of $9.33 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.22 billion. Salesforce had a return on equity of 12.01% and a net margin of 15.44%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.63 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.55 EPS for the current year.

Salesforce Announces Dividend

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 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 28.78%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Salesforce

In other Salesforce news, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 413 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $255.78, for a total transaction of $105,637.14. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 6,431 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,644,921.18. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other news, insider Parker Harris sold 2,800 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $241.22, for a total transaction of $675,416.00. Following the sale, the insider now 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 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 transaction, the chief accounting officer now 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 80,612 shares of company stock valued at $21,429,961. 3.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CRM has been the subject of several research analyst reports. JMP Securities reiterated a “market outperform” rating and set a $342.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Wednesday, August 28th. Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $260.00 to $290.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, August 26th. Loop Capital reaffirmed a “hold” rating and set a $270.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. Phillip Securities reaffirmed an “accumulate” rating and set a $305.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Friday, August 30th. Finally, Roth Mkm reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $335.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. Nine research 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, Salesforce currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $311.66.

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.