Acorn Creek Capital LLC Increases Stock Holdings in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Acorn Creek Capital LLC increased its holdings in shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 9.3% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 885 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 75 shares during the period. Acorn Creek Capital LLC’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $242,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Salesforce by 186.7% during the 1st quarter. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. now owns 86 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 56 shares in the last quarter. Piscataqua Savings Bank lifted its holdings in 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 purchasing an additional 96 shares in the last quarter. Red Tortoise LLC purchased a new position in Salesforce in the 1st quarter valued at $33,000. Clear Investment Research LLC lifted its holdings in Salesforce by 816.7% in the 2nd quarter. Clear Investment Research LLC now owns 110 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 98 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL purchased a new position in Salesforce in the 2nd quarter valued at $33,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.43% of the company’s stock.

Salesforce Trading Down 1.1 %

Shares of CRM stock opened at $288.31 on Wednesday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $263.98 and its 200 day moving average price is $263.46. Salesforce, Inc. has a 1-year low of $193.68 and a 1-year high of $318.71. The firm has a market capitalization of $279.37 billion, a PE ratio of 51.85, a P/E/G ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a current ratio of 1.04 and a quick ratio of 1.04.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 28th. The CRM provider reported $2.56 earnings per share 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 firm had revenue of $9.33 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.22 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.63 earnings per share. Salesforce’s quarterly revenue was up 8.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Salesforce

In other Salesforce news, insider Parker Harris sold 4,200 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $288.42, for a total value of $1,211,364.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 118,514 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $34,181,807.88. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Salesforce news, insider Parker Harris sold 4,200 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $288.42, for a total value of $1,211,364.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 118,514 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $34,181,807.88. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 413 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 76,412 shares of company stock valued at $20,212,507. Insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently commented on CRM shares. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Salesforce from $320.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $300.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a report on Thursday, September 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Salesforce from $300.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, August 29th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on Salesforce from $265.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their target price on Salesforce from $234.00 to $236.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-six have issued a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $310.74.

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.