Pittenger & Anderson Inc. Has $23.47 Million Position in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Pittenger & Anderson Inc. increased its position in shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 0.1% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 85,746 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 72 shares during the period. Salesforce comprises 0.9% of Pittenger & Anderson Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 28th largest holding. Pittenger & Anderson Inc.’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $23,469,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in CRM. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Salesforce by 186.7% during the 1st quarter. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. now owns 86 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 56 shares during the last quarter. Piscataqua Savings Bank lifted 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 acquiring an additional 96 shares during the last quarter. Clear Investment Research LLC boosted its stake in shares of Salesforce by 816.7% in the 2nd quarter. Clear Investment Research LLC now owns 110 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 98 shares in the last quarter. Godsey & Gibb Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 300.0% during the 3rd quarter. Godsey & Gibb Inc. now owns 120 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 90 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL acquired a new position in Salesforce during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $33,000. 80.43% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Phillip Securities reiterated an “accumulate” rating and set a $305.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a report on Friday, August 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Salesforce from $300.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, August 29th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on Salesforce from $265.00 to $305.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. Northland Securities raised Salesforce from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $270.00 to $400.00 in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. Finally, Cfra set a $343.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-six have issued a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Salesforce has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $313.37.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, COO Brian Millham sold 60,522 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $300.00, for a total transaction of $18,156,600.00. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, insider Parker Harris sold 1,400 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $251.62, for a total value of $352,268.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 117,581 shares in the company, valued at approximately $29,585,731.22. This trade 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 can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, COO Brian Millham sold 60,522 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $300.00, for a total transaction of $18,156,600.00. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 146,003 shares of company stock valued at $41,494,084 in the last 90 days. 3.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Salesforce Price Performance

Shares of NYSE CRM opened at $298.01 on Tuesday. 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 firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $273.68 and its 200 day simple moving average is $263.36. The stock has a market cap of $284.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 51.83, a PEG ratio of 2.67 and a beta of 1.29. Salesforce, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $204.69 and a fifty-two week high of $318.71.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, August 28th. The CRM provider reported $2.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.36 by $0.20. The company had revenue of $9.33 billion for 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%. Salesforce’s quarterly revenue was up 8.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.63 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 8th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, September 18th were given a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.54%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, September 18th. Salesforce’s payout ratio is 27.83%.

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.