Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) Shares Sold by J.W. Cole Advisors Inc.

J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. lowered its position in shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 1.2% during the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 10,151 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after selling 126 shares during the period. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $2,610,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in CRM. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. increased its position in Salesforce by 186.7% during the first quarter. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. now owns 86 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 56 shares during the period. Piscataqua Savings Bank increased its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 2,400.0% in the 2nd quarter. Piscataqua Savings Bank now owns 100 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 96 shares during the period. Red Tortoise LLC purchased a new stake in Salesforce in the 1st quarter valued at $33,000. Stephens Consulting LLC boosted its stake in Salesforce by 3,125.0% during the 2nd quarter. Stephens Consulting LLC now owns 129 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 125 shares during the period. Finally, Creekmur Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in Salesforce during the 4th quarter worth $35,000. 80.43% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on CRM. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on shares of Salesforce from $300.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their price objective on Salesforce from $350.00 to $300.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 30th. Oppenheimer boosted their target price on Salesforce from $280.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price target on 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 boosted their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $250.00 to $275.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-seven have given a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Salesforce has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $304.41.

Salesforce Stock Up 0.5 %

CRM opened at $254.57 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $246.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 45.79, a PEG ratio of 2.26 and a beta of 1.29. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $253.56 and its 200 day simple moving average is $268.14. Salesforce, Inc. has a 52 week low of $193.68 and a 52 week high of $318.71. The company has a quick ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 28th. The CRM provider reported $2.56 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.36 by $0.20. The business had revenue of $9.33 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.22 billion. Salesforce had a net margin of 15.44% and a return on equity of 12.01%. The company’s revenue was up 8.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.63 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 8th. Investors of record on Wednesday, September 18th will be paid a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, September 18th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.63%. Salesforce’s payout ratio is currently 28.78%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Parker Harris sold 4,200 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 117,581 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $30,920,275.57. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 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 completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 6,431 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,644,921.18. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Parker Harris sold 4,200 shares of the company’s 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 sale, the insider now owns 117,581 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $30,920,275.57. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 62,376 shares of company stock worth $15,878,005. 3.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.