727 Shares in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) Purchased by Financial Management Network Inc.

Financial Management Network Inc. purchased a new stake in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 727 shares of the CRM provider’s stock, valued at approximately $209,000.

A number of other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of CRM. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in Salesforce by 1.2% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 84,635,254 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $25,490,446,000 after purchasing an additional 1,008,841 shares during the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors lifted its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 26.9% during the 1st quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 14,376,536 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $4,329,925,000 after acquiring an additional 3,044,611 shares during the last quarter. Capital International Investors grew its position in Salesforce by 3.0% in the first quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 14,116,449 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $4,251,592,000 after acquiring an additional 407,834 shares in the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc increased its stake in Salesforce by 2.2% in the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 8,329,687 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $2,141,562,000 after acquiring an additional 176,641 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its position in Salesforce by 48.3% during the second quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 5,906,877 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $1,518,658,000 after purchasing an additional 1,922,674 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.43% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Salesforce

In related news, CFO Amy E. Weaver sold 897 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $285.29, for a total value of $255,905.13. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 52,930 shares in the company, valued at $15,100,399.70. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other Salesforce news, CFO Amy E. Weaver sold 897 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $285.29, for a total value of $255,905.13. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 52,930 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,100,399.70. The trade was 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 link. Also, 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 transaction of $117,824.77. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 7,006 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,998,741.74. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 86,812 shares of company stock valued at $23,418,916. Insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently commented on CRM. Evercore ISI reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $300.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Monday, August 26th. Northland Capmk upgraded shares of Salesforce from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market outperform” rating and issued a $342.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Wednesday, August 28th. Raymond James lifted their target price on shares of Salesforce from $325.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. Finally, Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of Salesforce from $260.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, August 26th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-six have issued a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Salesforce currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $312.51.

Salesforce Stock Up 2.4 %

Salesforce stock traded up $6.83 on Friday, hitting $293.59. 729,574 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 6,322,061. Salesforce, Inc. has a 1 year low of $193.68 and a 1 year high of $318.71. The firm has a market cap of $284.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 51.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a current ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $268.70 and its 200 day simple moving average is $263.24.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 28th. The CRM provider reported $2.56 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.36 by $0.20. Salesforce had a net margin of 15.44% and a return on equity of 12.01%. The business had revenue of $9.33 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.22 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.63 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Salesforce Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.54%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, September 18th. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 28.78%.

Salesforce Company 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.