Bleakley Financial Group LLC Raises Stake in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Bleakley Financial Group LLC increased its stake in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 6.4% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 26,723 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after buying an additional 1,615 shares during the quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $7,314,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Prentice Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 1.5% in the 3rd quarter. Prentice Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,506 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $686,000 after buying an additional 37 shares during the last quarter. Fox Hill Wealth Management lifted its holdings in Salesforce by 4.0% during the first quarter. Fox Hill Wealth Management now owns 985 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $297,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares during the last quarter. Pinnacle Wealth Planning Services Inc. lifted its holdings in Salesforce by 0.8% during the first quarter. Pinnacle Wealth Planning Services Inc. now owns 4,946 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $1,490,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares during the last quarter. Fulton Bank N.A. lifted its holdings in Salesforce by 0.4% during the third quarter. Fulton Bank N.A. now owns 9,269 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $2,537,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CRA Financial Services LLC lifted its holdings in Salesforce by 3.4% during the third quarter. CRA Financial Services LLC now owns 1,160 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $318,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares during the last quarter. 80.43% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Salesforce

In other news, insider Parker Harris sold 2,800 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $241.22, for a total value of $675,416.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 117,581 shares in the company, valued at approximately $28,362,888.82. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, CFO Amy E. Weaver sold 897 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $255.78, for a total value of $229,434.66. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 51,109 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,072,660.02. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Parker Harris sold 2,800 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $241.22, for a total value of $675,416.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 117,581 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $28,362,888.82. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 80,612 shares of company stock worth $21,429,961. Insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CRM has been the topic of several recent research reports. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $250.00 to $275.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Evercore ISI reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $300.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a report on Monday, August 26th. Piper Sandler downgraded shares of Salesforce from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Truist Financial reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $315.00 price objective (up from $300.00) on shares of Salesforce in a report on Thursday, September 19th. Finally, DA Davidson increased their price target on shares of Salesforce from $230.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Nine 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.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $310.74.

Salesforce Stock Up 0.1 %

Shares of NYSE CRM opened at $291.12 on Friday. Salesforce, Inc. has a one year low of $193.68 and a one year high of $318.71. 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 firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $265.84 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $263.84. The stock has a market capitalization of $282.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 52.36, a PEG ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 1.30.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last issued 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 firm had revenue of $9.33 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.22 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.63 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 8.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts expect that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 8th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, September 18th were issued a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.55%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, September 18th. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio is 28.78%.

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.