Stephens Consulting LLC Buys 125 Shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Stephens Consulting LLC increased its stake in shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 3,125.0% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 129 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 125 shares during the quarter. Stephens Consulting LLC’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $33,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Salesforce by 1.2% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 84,635,254 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $25,490,446,000 after purchasing an additional 1,008,841 shares in the last quarter. Capital World Investors boosted its stake in Salesforce by 2.4% during the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 19,561,325 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $5,147,402,000 after buying an additional 457,463 shares during the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in Salesforce by 5.3% during the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 14,921,042 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $3,926,323,000 after buying an additional 752,566 shares in the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors increased its stake in Salesforce by 26.9% in the 1st quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 14,376,536 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $4,329,925,000 after acquiring an additional 3,044,611 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Capital International Investors raised its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 3.0% during the 1st quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 14,116,449 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $4,251,592,000 after acquiring an additional 407,834 shares in the last quarter. 80.43% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Salesforce

In other Salesforce news, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 413 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $255.78, for a total value of $105,637.14. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 6,431 shares in the company, valued at $1,644,921.18. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 413 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $255.78, for a total transaction of $105,637.14. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 6,431 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,644,921.18. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Srinivas Tallapragada sold 942 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $242.32, for a total value of $228,265.44. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 22,154 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,368,357.28. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 112,964 shares of company stock valued at $27,956,647 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

Salesforce Stock Down 1.6 %

Shares of NYSE:CRM traded down $4.11 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $252.90. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 10,391,372 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,635,113. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 1.11. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $254.28 and its 200 day moving average price is $271.44. Salesforce, Inc. has a 52 week low of $193.68 and a 52 week high of $318.71. The company has a market capitalization of $245.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 45.49, a P/E/G ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 1.29.

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 the consensus estimate of $2.36 by $0.20. The business had revenue of $9.33 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.22 billion. Salesforce had a return on equity of 11.57% and a net margin of 15.30%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.63 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.47 EPS for the current year.

Salesforce Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 25th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, July 9th were issued a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.63%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, July 9th. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio is currently 28.78%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

CRM has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Salesforce from $250.00 to $275.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday. TD Cowen lifted their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $285.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday. Roth Mkm restated a “buy” rating and issued a $335.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a report on Thursday. Canaccord Genuity Group increased their price target on shares of Salesforce from $300.00 to $315.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein boosted their price objective on Salesforce from $234.00 to $236.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-seven have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Salesforce presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $302.00.

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.