BLB&B Advisors LLC Buys 8,858 Shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

BLB&B Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 24.8% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 44,537 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 8,858 shares during the quarter. BLB&B Advisors LLC’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $12,190,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. grew its stake in Salesforce by 186.7% in the first quarter. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. now owns 86 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 56 shares during the period. Piscataqua Savings Bank grew its holdings in Salesforce by 2,400.0% in the second quarter. Piscataqua Savings Bank now owns 100 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 96 shares during the period. Clear Investment Research LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 816.7% during the second 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 during the last quarter. Red Tortoise LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Salesforce in the 1st quarter worth approximately $33,000. Finally, Stephens Consulting LLC increased its position in Salesforce by 3,125.0% during the 2nd quarter. Stephens Consulting LLC now owns 129 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 125 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.43% of the company’s stock.

Salesforce Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:CRM opened at $288.24 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $279.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 51.84, a PEG ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 1.30. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $268.12 and its 200 day moving average is $263.09. Salesforce, Inc. has a 12 month low of $193.68 and a 12 month high of $318.71. 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 posted its quarterly 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 net margin of 15.44% and a return on equity of 12.01%. The company had revenue of $9.33 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.22 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.63 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.55 EPS for the current year.

Salesforce Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 8th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, September 18th were given a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.56%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, September 18th. Salesforce’s payout ratio is 28.78%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Salesforce news, COO Brian Millham sold 6,161 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $289.75, for a total value of $1,785,149.75. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, COO Brian Millham sold 6,161 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $289.75, for a total value of $1,785,149.75. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Parker Harris sold 4,200 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $257.28, for a total transaction of $1,080,576.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 117,581 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $30,251,239.68. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 85,502 shares of company stock valued at $23,045,186. 3.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Roth Mkm reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $335.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. DA Davidson boosted their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $230.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Northland Capmk raised Salesforce from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Phillip Securities reaffirmed an “accumulate” rating and set a $305.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a report on Friday, August 30th. Finally, Wedbush raised their target price on shares of Salesforce from $315.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, September 27th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-six have given a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Salesforce presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $311.66.

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.