Meridian Management Co. Buys 828 Shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Meridian Management Co. grew its holdings in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 3.8% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 22,424 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 828 shares during the period. Salesforce makes up about 1.6% of Meridian Management Co.’s portfolio, making the stock its 19th biggest position. Meridian Management Co.’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $6,138,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Piscataqua Savings Bank increased its stake in shares of Salesforce by 2,400.0% in the 2nd quarter. Piscataqua Savings Bank now owns 100 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 96 shares during the last quarter. Clear Investment Research LLC increased 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 during the last quarter. Godsey & Gibb Inc. increased its stake in shares of Salesforce by 300.0% in 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. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL bought a new position in shares of Salesforce in the 2nd quarter valued at $33,000. Finally, Stephens Consulting LLC increased its stake in shares of Salesforce by 3,125.0% in the 2nd quarter. Stephens Consulting LLC now owns 129 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 125 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.43% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, 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 value of $18,156,600.00. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In related news, 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 value of $18,156,600.00. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Amy E. Weaver sold 897 shares of the company’s 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 $255,905.13. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 52,930 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,100,399.70. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 144,373 shares of company stock valued at $41,250,680 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

Salesforce Stock Performance

Shares of CRM opened at $341.74 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 stock has a 50 day moving average price of $279.53 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $264.83. The firm has a market capitalization of $326.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 59.43, a P/E/G ratio of 2.91 and a beta of 1.29. Salesforce, Inc. has a 52 week low of $211.76 and a 52 week high of $344.88.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last released 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 period in the prior year, the company posted $1.63 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 8th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, September 18th were issued a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.47%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, September 18th. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio is presently 27.83%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on CRM shares. Truist Financial reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $315.00 price target (up previously from $300.00) on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. Evercore ISI restated an “outperform” rating and set a $300.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Monday, August 26th. Erste Group Bank restated a “hold” rating on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Wednesday, September 11th. Canaccord Genuity Group boosted their price objective on Salesforce from $300.00 to $315.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted 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. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-six have given a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $314.80.

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.