Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) Shares Acquired by Coastline Trust Co

Coastline Trust Co boosted its position in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 2.2% during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 6,406 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after buying an additional 138 shares during the quarter. Coastline Trust Co’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $1,753,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CRM. Capital Research Global Investors raised its position in shares of Salesforce by 26.9% in the 1st quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 14,376,536 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $4,329,925,000 after purchasing an additional 3,044,611 shares in the last quarter. Capital International Investors raised its holdings in Salesforce by 3.0% in the first quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 14,116,449 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $4,251,592,000 after acquiring an additional 407,834 shares in the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc raised its holdings 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 in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its stake in Salesforce by 48.3% during the 2nd 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 acquiring an additional 1,922,674 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its holdings in Salesforce by 25.1% during the 2nd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 4,378,826 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $1,125,331,000 after acquiring an additional 877,495 shares in the last quarter. 80.43% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Salesforce Stock Performance

Shares of CRM opened at $325.28 on Friday. Salesforce, Inc. has a 12-month low of $212.00 and a 12-month high of $348.86. The stock has a market capitalization of $310.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 56.57, a P/E/G ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 1.29. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $286.61 and its 200-day moving average is $266.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a current ratio of 1.04 and a quick ratio of 1.04.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last posted its quarterly 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%. The firm’s revenue was up 8.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.63 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 8th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, September 18th were paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.49%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, September 18th. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio is presently 27.83%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Sabastian Niles sold 2,484 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $244.81, for a total transaction of $608,108.04. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 828 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $202,702.68. This represents a 75.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Parker Harris sold 4,200 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $262.97, for a total value of $1,104,474.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 117,581 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $30,920,275.57. The trade was a 3.45 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 144,373 shares of company stock worth $41,250,680 over the last ninety days. 3.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on CRM. Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and issued a $345.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Friday, September 20th. Northland Securities raised Salesforce from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $270.00 to $400.00 in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. JMP Securities reiterated a “market outperform” rating and issued a $342.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Wednesday, August 28th. Oppenheimer reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $330.00 price target (up from $300.00) on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $320.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, October 28th. Nine equities 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. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Salesforce currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $322.51.

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.