J. Stern & Co. LLP Raises Holdings in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

J. Stern & Co. LLP boosted its position in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 5.3% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 168,275 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 8,426 shares during the period. Salesforce comprises 4.9% of J. Stern & Co. LLP’s holdings, making the stock its 8th largest position. J. Stern & Co. LLP’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $46,059,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Piscataqua Savings Bank raised its position in shares of Salesforce by 2,400.0% in the second 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 period. Clear Investment Research LLC grew its stake in 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 buying an additional 98 shares during the last quarter. Stephens Consulting LLC raised its holdings in 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 acquiring an additional 125 shares during the period. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL acquired a new stake in Salesforce during the second quarter worth approximately $33,000. Finally, Godsey & Gibb Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 300.0% during the third quarter. Godsey & Gibb Inc. now owns 120 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 90 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.43% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CRM has been the subject of several research reports. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $300.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a report on Thursday, September 19th. Erste Group Bank raised Salesforce from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and issued a $345.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Friday, September 20th. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Salesforce from $275.00 to $360.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday. Finally, FBN Securities upgraded Salesforce to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-eight have assigned a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Salesforce has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $339.66.

Insider Activity

In other Salesforce news, CFO Amy E. Weaver sold 897 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $285.29, for a total transaction of $255,905.13. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 52,930 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,100,399.70. This represents a 1.67 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 413 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $285.29, for a total value of $117,824.77. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 7,006 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,998,741.74. This trade represents a 5.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 144,510 shares of company stock valued at $42,475,538. Company insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

Salesforce Trading Up 0.5 %

NYSE CRM traded up $1.64 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $340.75. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 522,485 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,279,484. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $296.26 and a 200-day simple moving average of $268.98. 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, Inc. has a 52 week low of $212.00 and a 52 week high of $348.86. The stock has a market cap of $325.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 58.98, a P/E/G ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 1.29.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last released 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. Salesforce had a net margin of 15.44% and a return on equity of 12.01%. The firm had revenue of $9.33 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.22 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.63 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.5% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 8th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, September 18th were given 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 dividend yield of 0.47%. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 27.83%.

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.