Lewis Asset Management LLC Acquires 151 Shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Lewis Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 2.3% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 6,643 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 151 shares during the quarter. Salesforce comprises approximately 1.3% of Lewis Asset Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 16th biggest position. Lewis Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $1,818,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of CRM. Duality Advisers LP bought a new stake in Salesforce in the 1st quarter valued at about $1,280,000. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. increased its holdings in Salesforce by 21.7% in the 1st quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 55,819 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $16,811,000 after buying an additional 9,941 shares during the period. Wealthspire Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Salesforce by 0.7% during the 1st quarter. Wealthspire Advisors LLC now owns 7,573 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $2,281,000 after acquiring an additional 53 shares in the last quarter. Hilltop National Bank acquired a new stake in Salesforce in the first quarter valued at about $603,000. Finally, PFG Advisors grew its stake in shares of Salesforce by 9.2% during the first quarter. PFG Advisors now owns 1,674 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $504,000 after buying an additional 141 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.43% of the company’s stock.

Salesforce Stock Performance

Shares of Salesforce stock opened at $310.78 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $297.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 54.05, a PEG ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 1.29. 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 1 year low of $208.84 and a 1 year high of $318.71. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $275.30 and its 200 day moving average is $263.86.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last issued its earnings results 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 business had revenue of $9.33 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.22 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.63 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 8th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, September 18th were issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.51%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, September 18th. Salesforce’s payout ratio is presently 27.83%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Sanford C. Bernstein boosted their target price on shares of Salesforce from $234.00 to $236.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $265.00 to $305.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. DA Davidson boosted their price target on shares of Salesforce from $230.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, August 29th. UBS Group raised their target price on Salesforce from $250.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. Finally, Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $260.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, August 26th. Nine equities research 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Salesforce has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $313.37.

Insider Transactions at Salesforce

In related news, CFO Amy E. Weaver sold 897 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $285.29, for a total value of $255,905.13. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 52,930 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,100,399.70. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, CFO Amy E. Weaver sold 897 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $285.29, for a total value of $255,905.13. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 52,930 shares in the company, valued at $15,100,399.70. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Parker Harris sold 3,970 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $296.74, for a total value of $1,178,057.80. Following the sale, the insider now owns 119,402 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $35,431,349.48. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 148,573 shares of company stock worth $42,319,874 over the last three months. 3.20% of the stock is currently owned by company 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.