Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) Shares Acquired by Larson Financial Group LLC

Larson Financial Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 38.6% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,269 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,188 shares during the quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $1,168,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Legal & General Group Plc lifted its stake in shares of Salesforce by 2.2% in the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 8,329,687 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $2,141,562,000 after purchasing an additional 176,641 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its holdings in Salesforce by 1.0% in the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 5,964,702 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $1,632,599,000 after buying an additional 57,825 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Salesforce by 1.7% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 5,912,854 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $1,618,407,000 after acquiring an additional 96,381 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Salesforce by 25.1% during the 2nd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 4,378,826 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $1,125,331,000 after acquiring an additional 877,495 shares in the last quarter. Finally, ValueAct Holdings L.P. grew its position in shares of Salesforce by 12.3% during the 2nd quarter. ValueAct Holdings L.P. now owns 3,914,309 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $1,006,369,000 after acquiring an additional 428,000 shares during the period. 80.43% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the company. Raymond James upped their price target on Salesforce from $325.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Truist Financial reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $315.00 target price (up previously from $300.00) on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. Bank of America lifted their price target on shares of Salesforce from $325.00 to $390.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. Wedbush upped their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $315.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, September 27th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $300.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-eight have issued a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Salesforce presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $336.37.

Salesforce Price Performance

Salesforce stock opened at $342.02 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. Salesforce, Inc. has a 52-week low of $212.00 and a 52-week high of $348.86. The firm has a market cap of $326.97 billion, a PE ratio of 59.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.04 and a beta of 1.29. The company’s 50 day moving average is $294.61 and its two-hundred day moving average is $268.53.

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. 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 analysts’ expectations of $9.22 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.63 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts expect that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 8th. Investors of record on Wednesday, September 18th were paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, September 18th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.47%. Salesforce’s payout ratio is currently 27.83%.

Insider Activity at Salesforce

In related news, insider Sabastian Niles sold 2,484 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $244.81, for a total value of $608,108.04. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 828 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $202,702.68. The trade was a 75.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, COO Brian Millham sold 14,808 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $338.95, for a total transaction of $5,019,171.60. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 147,991 shares of company stock valued at $43,333,238 over the last quarter. 3.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.