Main Street Financial Solutions LLC Raises Stake in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Main Street Financial Solutions LLC boosted its position in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 12.5% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 4,701 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after buying an additional 522 shares during the quarter. Main Street Financial Solutions LLC’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $1,209,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in Salesforce by 1.2% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 84,635,254 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $25,490,446,000 after purchasing an additional 1,008,841 shares during the last quarter. Capital World Investors lifted its position in Salesforce by 2.4% in the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 19,561,325 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $5,147,402,000 after purchasing an additional 457,463 shares during the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its position in Salesforce by 5.2% in the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 14,905,462 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $3,922,223,000 after purchasing an additional 736,986 shares during the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors lifted its position in Salesforce by 26.9% in the first quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 14,376,536 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $4,329,925,000 after purchasing an additional 3,044,611 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Capital International Investors lifted its position in Salesforce by 3.0% in the first quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 14,116,449 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $4,251,592,000 after purchasing an additional 407,834 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.43% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have weighed in on CRM shares. Wedbush reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $315.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on Salesforce from $265.00 to $305.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their target price on Salesforce from $350.00 to $300.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 30th. BNP Paribas upgraded Salesforce to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein upped their target price on Salesforce from $234.00 to $236.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-seven have assigned a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $304.41.

Salesforce Trading Up 1.6 %

Salesforce stock opened at $253.46 on Friday. 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, Inc. has a one year low of $193.68 and a one year high of $318.71. The stock has a market capitalization of $245.60 billion, a PE ratio of 45.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 1.29. The business’s fifty day moving average is $253.73 and its 200 day moving average is $268.67.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 28th. The CRM provider reported $2.56 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 company had revenue of $9.33 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.22 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.63 earnings per share. Salesforce’s revenue was up 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.54 EPS for the current year.

Salesforce Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Activity at Salesforce

In other Salesforce news, insider Parker Harris sold 5,600 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $250.17, for a total value of $1,400,952.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 116,693 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $29,193,087.81. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, Director Oscar Munoz bought 2,051 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, June 21st. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $243.69 per share, with a total value of $499,808.19. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 7,026 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,712,165.94. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Parker Harris sold 5,600 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $250.17, for a total value of $1,400,952.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 116,693 shares in the company, valued at $29,193,087.81. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 62,376 shares of company stock valued at $15,878,005 over the last ninety days. 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.