Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) Shares Bought by Kowal Investment Group LLC

Kowal Investment Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 112.0% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,772 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 936 shares during the period. Kowal Investment Group LLC’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $485,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. XN LP raised its stake in Salesforce by 24.2% in the 2nd quarter. XN LP now owns 464,489 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $119,420,000 after acquiring an additional 90,616 shares during the last quarter. Atomi Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 27.5% during the third quarter. Atomi Financial Group Inc. now owns 11,999 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $3,284,000 after purchasing an additional 2,589 shares during the period. M&G Plc acquired a new position in Salesforce in the 1st quarter worth approximately $2,178,000. First Foundation Advisors raised its position in Salesforce by 38.0% during the 1st quarter. First Foundation Advisors now owns 828 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $249,000 after buying an additional 228 shares during the last quarter. Finally, St. Johns Investment Management Company LLC lifted its stake in Salesforce by 4.1% during the 1st quarter. St. Johns Investment Management Company LLC now owns 5,834 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $1,757,000 after acquiring an additional 228 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.43% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Parker Harris sold 4,200 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $289.87, for a total transaction of $1,217,454.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 118,514 shares in the company, valued at $34,353,653.18. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other Salesforce news, insider Parker Harris sold 4,200 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $289.87, for a total transaction of $1,217,454.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 118,514 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $34,353,653.18. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, COO Brian Millham sold 8,427 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $280.00, for a total value of $2,359,560.00. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 80,612 shares of company stock worth $21,429,961 in the last quarter. 3.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently commented on CRM shares. UBS Group upped their target price on Salesforce from $250.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. Phillip Securities restated an “accumulate” rating and set a $305.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Friday, August 30th. Wedbush upped their price target on Salesforce from $315.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, September 27th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on Salesforce from $265.00 to $305.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $345.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Friday, September 20th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-six have assigned a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Salesforce presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $310.74.

Salesforce Stock Up 0.9 %

Salesforce stock opened at $290.89 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a current ratio of 1.04. The company has a market capitalization of $281.87 billion, a PE ratio of 52.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 1.30. Salesforce, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $193.68 and a fifty-two week high of $318.71. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $265.00 and a 200 day moving average price of $263.65.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 28th. The CRM provider reported $2.56 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.36 by $0.20. Salesforce had a net margin of 15.44% and a return on equity of 12.01%. The company had revenue of $9.33 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.22 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.63 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Salesforce Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 8th. Investors of record on Wednesday, September 18th were given 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 dividend yield of 0.55%. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 28.78%.

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.