Financial Advocates Investment Management Buys 120 Shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Financial Advocates Investment Management lifted its stake in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 1.4% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 8,968 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 120 shares during the period. Financial Advocates Investment Management’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $2,455,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. lifted its stake in Salesforce by 186.7% in the first quarter. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. now owns 86 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 56 shares during the period. Piscataqua Savings Bank lifted its stake in 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 period. Clear Investment Research LLC lifted its stake in Salesforce by 816.7% in the second quarter. Clear Investment Research LLC now owns 110 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 98 shares during the period. Stephens Consulting LLC lifted its stake in Salesforce by 3,125.0% in the second quarter. Stephens Consulting LLC now owns 129 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 125 shares during the period. Finally, Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL purchased a new stake in Salesforce in the second quarter worth about $33,000. 80.43% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Salesforce

In other Salesforce news, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 413 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $285.29, for a total value of $117,824.77. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 7,006 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,998,741.74. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, insider Parker Harris sold 1,400 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction on Friday, August 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $251.62, for a total transaction of $352,268.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 117,581 shares in the company, valued at $29,585,731.22. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 413 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $285.29, for a total value of $117,824.77. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 7,006 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,998,741.74. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 148,303 shares of company stock worth $42,024,385. Corporate insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

Salesforce Trading Down 1.7 %

Shares of NYSE:CRM opened at $291.41 on Friday. Salesforce, Inc. has a 1 year low of $198.66 and a 1 year high of $318.71. The firm has a market capitalization of $278.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 50.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a current ratio of 1.04 and a quick ratio of 1.04. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $272.41 and its 200-day moving average price is $263.22.

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 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 firm had revenue of $9.33 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.22 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.63 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 8.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.55 earnings per share 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 issued 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 0.55%. Salesforce’s payout ratio is currently 27.83%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CRM has been the subject of a number of research reports. FBN Securities raised shares of Salesforce to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Salesforce from $250.00 to $275.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. Evercore ISI reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $300.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Monday, August 26th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Salesforce from $250.00 to $275.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. Finally, Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $295.00 to $315.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-six have assigned a buy rating and four have given 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 target price of $313.37.

Salesforce 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.