Probity Advisors Inc. Has $866,000 Position in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Probity Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 6.2% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 3,163 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after buying an additional 184 shares during the period. Probity Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $866,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of CRM. Kapitalo Investimentos Ltda bought a new stake in shares of Salesforce during the 4th quarter worth approximately $51,000. Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. raised its position in Salesforce by 11.8% during the first quarter. Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,311 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $395,000 after acquiring an additional 138 shares in the last quarter. Foster Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of Salesforce in the 1st quarter valued at about $296,000. Montecito Bank & Trust increased its stake in shares of Salesforce by 57.5% during the 1st quarter. Montecito Bank & Trust now owns 2,004 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $604,000 after purchasing an additional 732 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wedmont Private Capital raised its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 19.8% in the 1st quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 15,904 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $4,809,000 after purchasing an additional 2,633 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 80.43% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently commented on CRM. Raymond James lifted their price target on Salesforce from $325.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $300.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. Phillip Securities restated an “accumulate” rating and issued a $305.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Friday, August 30th. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $345.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Friday, September 20th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $300.00 to $310.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-six have issued a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $310.74.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Parker Harris sold 4,200 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $289.87, for a total value of $1,217,454.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 118,514 shares in the company, valued at approximately $34,353,653.18. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other Salesforce news, Director Maynard G. Webb, Jr. sold 9,170 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $276.32, for a total transaction of $2,533,854.40. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 1,363 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $376,624.16. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Parker Harris sold 4,200 shares of the firm’s 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 118,514 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $34,353,653.18. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 80,612 shares of company stock valued at $21,429,961. 3.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Salesforce Price Performance

Salesforce stock opened at $292.00 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. Salesforce, Inc. has a 52 week low of $193.68 and a 52 week high of $318.71. The stock has a market capitalization of $282.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 52.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 1.30. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $265.00 and a 200-day moving average of $263.65.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, August 28th. The CRM provider reported $2.56 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.22 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.63 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 8.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Announces Dividend

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

Salesforce Company 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.