Golden State Equity Partners Has $5.50 Million Holdings in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Golden State Equity Partners cut its stake in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 9.3% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 20,081 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after selling 2,057 shares during the period. Salesforce comprises approximately 1.2% of Golden State Equity Partners’ holdings, making the stock its 11th largest holding. Golden State Equity Partners’ holdings in Salesforce were worth $5,496,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Salesforce by 186.7% in the 1st quarter. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. now owns 86 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 56 shares during the last quarter. Piscataqua Savings Bank lifted its position in Salesforce by 2,400.0% during the 2nd quarter. Piscataqua Savings Bank now owns 100 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 96 shares in the last quarter. Clear Investment Research LLC grew 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 valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 98 shares in the last quarter. Godsey & Gibb Inc. raised its stake in shares of Salesforce by 300.0% during the 3rd quarter. Godsey & Gibb Inc. now owns 120 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 90 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL bought a new position in shares of Salesforce in the second quarter valued at $33,000. 80.43% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Parker Harris sold 1,400 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $251.62, for a total transaction of $352,268.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 117,581 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $29,585,731.22. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other Salesforce news, COO Brian Millham sold 969 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $286.56, for a total transaction of $277,676.64. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Parker Harris sold 1,400 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, August 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $251.62, for a total value of $352,268.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 117,581 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $29,585,731.22. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 83,581 shares of company stock worth $22,616,017 in the last three months. 3.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Salesforce Stock Down 0.4 %

Shares of NYSE CRM traded down $1.23 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $297.66. 66,207 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 6,283,349. Salesforce, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $198.66 and a fifty-two week high of $318.71. The stock has a market cap of $284.56 billion, a PE ratio of 51.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 1.30. The company’s fifty day moving average is $271.04 and its two-hundred day moving average is $262.78. 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 (NYSE:CRM) last issued its quarterly 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. The business had revenue of $9.33 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.22 billion. Salesforce had a net margin of 15.44% and a return on equity of 12.01%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 8.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.63 EPS. On average, analysts expect that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Salesforce Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 8th. Investors 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 dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 27.83%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently commented on CRM. Citigroup lifted their target price on Salesforce from $260.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, August 26th. Cfra set a $343.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Phillip Securities reissued an “accumulate” rating and issued a $305.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Friday, August 30th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Salesforce from $320.00 to $330.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. Finally, Oppenheimer restated an “outperform” rating and set a $330.00 price target (up from $300.00) on shares of Salesforce in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Nine investment 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $313.37.

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.