Congress Asset Management Co. Increases Stake in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Congress Asset Management Co. raised its holdings in shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 13.3% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 300,242 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 35,320 shares during the quarter. Congress Asset Management Co.’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $82,179,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Salesforce by 186.7% in the first quarter. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. now owns 86 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 56 shares in the last quarter. Piscataqua Savings Bank grew its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 2,400.0% in the 2nd quarter. Piscataqua Savings Bank now owns 100 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 96 shares during the period. Clear Investment Research LLC increased its stake in Salesforce by 816.7% in the 2nd 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 in the last quarter. Godsey & Gibb Inc. boosted its position in Salesforce by 300.0% during the third quarter. Godsey & Gibb Inc. now owns 120 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 90 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL acquired a new stake in Salesforce in the second quarter valued at $33,000. 80.43% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. Erste Group Bank reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Wednesday, September 11th. Canaccord Genuity Group lifted their price objective on Salesforce from $300.00 to $315.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on Salesforce from $320.00 to $350.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday. TD Cowen boosted their price target on Salesforce from $285.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Finally, Northland Securities raised Salesforce from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $270.00 to $400.00 in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-six have assigned a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $313.37.

Salesforce Stock Down 1.8 %

Shares of NYSE:CRM traded down $5.40 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $291.00. 859,852 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 6,270,727. The firm has a market cap of $278.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 50.68, a PEG ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 1.30. Salesforce, Inc. has a 52-week low of $198.66 and a 52-week high of $318.71. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $271.75 and its 200 day simple moving average is $263.02. 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 (NYSE:CRM) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, August 28th. The CRM provider reported $2.56 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.36 by $0.20. Salesforce had a net margin of 15.44% and a return on equity of 12.01%. The business had revenue of $9.33 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.22 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.63 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.55 EPS for the current year.

Salesforce Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 8th. Investors of record on Wednesday, September 18th were issued a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.55%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, September 18th. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio is currently 27.83%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Salesforce

In related news, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 413 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $285.29, for a total value of $117,824.77. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 7,006 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,998,741.74. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other Salesforce news, insider Parker Harris sold 1,400 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $251.62, for a total transaction of $352,268.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 117,581 shares in the company, valued at $29,585,731.22. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 413 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $285.29, for a total transaction of $117,824.77. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 7,006 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,998,741.74. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 148,303 shares of company stock worth $42,024,385 in the last 90 days. 3.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

About Salesforce

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.