Beacon Financial Advisory LLC Raises Stake in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Beacon Financial Advisory LLC grew its holdings in shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 31.9% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 2,172 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 525 shares during the quarter. Beacon Financial Advisory LLC’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $594,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Marks Group Wealth Management Inc lifted its stake in shares of Salesforce by 5.1% in the 3rd quarter. Marks Group Wealth Management Inc now owns 38,100 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $10,428,000 after acquiring an additional 1,837 shares during the last quarter. Long Run Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Salesforce in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $537,000. HF Advisory Group LLC increased its stake in Salesforce by 50.7% in the 3rd quarter. HF Advisory Group LLC now owns 5,410 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $1,481,000 after purchasing an additional 1,821 shares during the period. NorthRock Partners LLC lifted its position in Salesforce by 26.2% in the third quarter. NorthRock Partners LLC now owns 11,583 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $3,170,000 after purchasing an additional 2,403 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Crestwood Advisors Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Salesforce by 0.3% during the third quarter. Crestwood Advisors Group LLC now owns 294,260 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $80,543,000 after purchasing an additional 826 shares during the period. 80.43% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Salesforce Stock Performance

NYSE:CRM opened at $306.90 on Thursday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $275.30 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $263.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a current ratio of 1.04. Salesforce, Inc. has a 52-week low of $208.84 and a 52-week high of $318.71. The firm has a market capitalization of $293.40 billion, a PE ratio of 53.37, a P/E/G ratio of 2.67 and a beta of 1.29.

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, topping the consensus estimate of $2.36 by $0.20. Salesforce had a net margin of 15.44% and a return on equity of 12.01%. The company had revenue of $9.33 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.22 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.63 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.55 EPS for the current year.

Salesforce Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 8th. Investors 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 dividend yield of 0.52%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, September 18th. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 27.83%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently commented on CRM. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Salesforce from $300.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and issued a $345.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Friday, September 20th. Robert W. Baird increased their target price on shares of Salesforce from $295.00 to $315.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Loop Capital reissued a “hold” rating and issued a $270.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. Finally, Phillip Securities reaffirmed an “accumulate” rating and set a $305.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Friday, August 30th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-six have issued a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Salesforce currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $313.37.

Insider Activity at Salesforce

In other Salesforce news, COO Brian Millham sold 60,522 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $300.00, for a total transaction of $18,156,600.00. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, COO Brian Millham sold 60,522 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $300.00, for a total transaction of $18,156,600.00. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Maynard G. Webb, Jr. sold 9,170 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $276.32, for a total value of $2,533,854.40. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 1,363 shares in the company, valued at $376,624.16. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 149,973 shares of company stock worth $42,672,142. 3.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.