Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) Holdings Lowered by Adams Diversified Equity Fund Inc.

Adams Diversified Equity Fund Inc. reduced its holdings in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 8.6% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 57,400 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after selling 5,400 shares during the period. Adams Diversified Equity Fund Inc.’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $15,711,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in Salesforce by 1.2% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 84,635,254 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $25,490,446,000 after acquiring an additional 1,008,841 shares in the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors increased its position in Salesforce by 26.9% in 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 purchasing an additional 3,044,611 shares during the last quarter. Capital International Investors increased its position in Salesforce by 3.0% in the 1st quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 14,116,449 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $4,251,592,000 after purchasing an additional 407,834 shares during the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc increased its position in Salesforce by 2.2% in the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 8,329,687 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $2,141,562,000 after purchasing an additional 176,641 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its position in Salesforce by 48.3% in the 2nd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 5,906,877 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $1,518,658,000 after purchasing an additional 1,922,674 shares during the last quarter. 80.43% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CRM has been the topic of several research reports. JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market outperform” rating and issued a $342.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Wednesday, August 28th. Raymond James raised their target price on Salesforce from $325.00 to $350.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on Salesforce from $320.00 to $350.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on Salesforce from $265.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on Salesforce from $295.00 to $315.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. Nine investment 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 company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $313.37.

Insider Buying and Selling at Salesforce

In other Salesforce news, insider Parker Harris sold 4,200 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $289.87, for a total value of $1,217,454.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 118,514 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $34,353,653.18. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Salesforce news, insider Parker Harris sold 4,200 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $289.87, for a total value of $1,217,454.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 118,514 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $34,353,653.18. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, COO Brian Millham sold 969 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $286.56, for a total value of $277,676.64. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 83,581 shares of company stock valued at $22,616,017. Company insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

Salesforce Stock Up 1.8 %

Shares of Salesforce stock opened at $298.93 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. Salesforce, Inc. has a 12 month low of $197.08 and a 12 month high of $318.71. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $271.04 and a 200 day simple moving average of $262.78. The stock has a market cap of $285.78 billion, a PE ratio of 51.99, a price-to-earnings-growth 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 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.36 by $0.20. Salesforce had a return on equity of 12.01% and a net margin of 15.44%. The business had revenue of $9.33 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.22 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.63 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict 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. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, September 18th were paid a $0.40 dividend. 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 0.54%. Salesforce’s payout ratio is 27.83%.

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.