Meridian Investment Counsel Inc. Purchases 733 Shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Meridian Investment Counsel Inc. increased its position in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 32.1% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 3,013 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 733 shares during the quarter. Meridian Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $775,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Gray Wealth Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Salesforce during the 4th quarter worth about $213,000. Western Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 21.2% during the 4th quarter. Western Wealth Management LLC now owns 7,999 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $2,105,000 after purchasing an additional 1,400 shares during the period. HTLF Bank bought a new position in shares of Salesforce during the 4th quarter worth about $331,000. Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC now owns 41,459 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $10,910,000 after purchasing an additional 349 shares during the period. Finally, Beaumont Financial Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 27.5% during the 4th quarter. Beaumont Financial Advisors LLC now owns 2,521 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $663,000 after purchasing an additional 544 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 80.43% of the company’s stock.

Salesforce Stock Up 0.9 %

Shares of CRM stock traded up $2.47 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $265.38. 4,495,712 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,601,337. The business has a 50 day moving average of $249.47 and a two-hundred day moving average of $272.87. The company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. Salesforce, Inc. has a 52 week low of $193.68 and a 52 week high of $318.71. The company has a market capitalization of $257.15 billion, a PE ratio of 47.45, a PEG ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 1.29.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, May 29th. The CRM provider reported $2.44 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.38 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $9.13 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.15 billion. Salesforce had a net margin of 15.30% and a return on equity of 11.57%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.15 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 25th. Investors of record on Tuesday, July 9th were given a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.60%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, July 9th. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 28.78%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their target price on shares of Salesforce from $350.00 to $300.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 30th. Truist Financial reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $300.00 target price (down from $360.00) on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Thursday, May 30th. UBS Group decreased their target price on shares of Salesforce from $310.00 to $250.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 30th. Piper Sandler restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $250.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Friday, July 12th. Finally, Mizuho reduced their price target on shares of Salesforce from $345.00 to $300.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 30th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating, twenty-five have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $291.50.

Insider Activity at Salesforce

In related news, insider Parker Harris sold 4,200 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $285.20, for a total value of $1,197,840.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 115,762 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $33,015,322.40. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, insider Srinivas Tallapragada sold 942 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $242.32, for a total value of $228,265.44. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 22,154 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,368,357.28. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Parker Harris sold 4,200 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $285.20, for a total transaction of $1,197,840.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 115,762 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $33,015,322.40. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 172,136 shares of company stock valued at $43,631,609. Corporate insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

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.