Blue Trust Inc. Boosts Stake in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Blue Trust Inc. increased its position in shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 35.9% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 11,610 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after buying an additional 3,065 shares during the quarter. Blue Trust Inc.’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $2,985,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Meridian Financial Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Salesforce by 1.5% during the third quarter. Meridian Financial Partners LLC now owns 4,395 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $1,203,000 after acquiring an additional 64 shares during the last quarter. Mogy Joel R Investment Counsel Inc. boosted its stake in Salesforce by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. Mogy Joel R Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 196,896 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $53,892,000 after purchasing an additional 1,074 shares during the period. Riverview Trust Co grew its position in Salesforce by 15.5% during the 3rd quarter. Riverview Trust Co now owns 769 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $210,000 after purchasing an additional 103 shares during the last quarter. Moss Adams Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in Salesforce by 39.8% in the third quarter. Moss Adams Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,397 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $657,000 after purchasing an additional 683 shares during the period. Finally, Generate Investment Management Ltd raised its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 212.5% in the third quarter. Generate Investment Management Ltd now owns 72,744 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $19,911,000 after buying an additional 49,466 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.43% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Canaccord Genuity Group boosted their price target on Salesforce from $300.00 to $315.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. DA Davidson upped their price target on Salesforce from $230.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $260.00 to $290.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, August 26th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $250.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. Finally, Evercore ISI restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $300.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Monday, August 26th. Nine 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 company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $311.66.

Salesforce Trading Up 0.7 %

Salesforce stock opened at $293.07 on Friday. Salesforce, Inc. has a 52 week low of $193.68 and a 52 week high of $318.71. The stock has a market cap of $283.98 billion, a PE ratio of 52.71, a P/E/G ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 1.30. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $266.65 and a 200 day moving average price of $263.77. The company has a current ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15.

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

Salesforce Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared 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 of this dividend was Wednesday, September 18th. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 28.78%.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider R David Schmaier sold 1,155 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $255.78, for a total transaction of $295,425.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 20,556 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,257,813.68. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other Salesforce news, insider Parker Harris sold 4,200 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 in the company, valued at $34,353,653.18. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider R David Schmaier sold 1,155 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $255.78, for a total value of $295,425.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 20,556 shares in the company, valued at $5,257,813.68. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 80,612 shares of company stock valued at $21,429,961 in the last 90 days. 3.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.