Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) Shares Acquired by Cozad Asset Management Inc.

Cozad Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 2.7% during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 14,346 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 383 shares during the period. Cozad Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $3,688,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Salesforce by 11.4% during the 4th quarter. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 353 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $93,000 after purchasing an additional 36 shares in the last quarter. Fox Hill Wealth Management boosted 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 worth $297,000 after buying an additional 38 shares in the last quarter. Pinnacle Wealth Planning Services Inc. grew its position 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 worth $1,490,000 after buying an additional 38 shares during the period. Glassman Wealth Services increased its holdings in Salesforce by 2.9% in the fourth quarter. Glassman Wealth Services now owns 1,369 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $360,000 after buying an additional 39 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Blue Barn Wealth LLC lifted its position in shares of Salesforce by 1.8% during the 1st quarter. Blue Barn Wealth LLC now owns 2,207 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $665,000 after acquiring an additional 39 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.43% of the company’s stock.

Salesforce Price Performance

CRM stock opened at $248.06 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $240.37 billion, a PE ratio of 44.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 1.29. The company has a current ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $254.83 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $270.44. Salesforce, Inc. has a 12-month low of $193.68 and a 12-month high of $318.71.

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 analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.36 by $0.20. Salesforce had a return on equity of 12.01% and a net margin of 15.44%. The business had revenue of $9.33 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.22 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.63 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts predict that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.52 EPS for the current year.

Salesforce Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 25th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, July 9th were paid a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.65%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, July 9th. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio is presently 28.78%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on CRM shares. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on Salesforce from $295.00 to $315.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on Salesforce from $320.00 to $330.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. Canaccord Genuity Group boosted their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $300.00 to $315.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their target price on shares of Salesforce from $360.00 to $350.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 30th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Salesforce from $250.00 to $275.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-seven have assigned a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $304.41.

Insider Activity at Salesforce

In related news, insider Parker Harris sold 4,200 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $262.97, for a total value of $1,104,474.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 117,581 shares in the company, valued at approximately $30,920,275.57. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 413 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $255.78, for a total transaction of $105,637.14. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 6,431 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,644,921.18. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Parker Harris sold 4,200 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $262.97, for a total transaction of $1,104,474.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 117,581 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $30,920,275.57. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 95,164 shares of company stock worth $23,760,225. 3.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.