Concord Investment Counsel Inc. Buys New Stake in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Concord Investment Counsel Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) in the first quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm acquired 12,928 shares of the CRM provider’s stock, valued at approximately $3,894,000. Salesforce makes up about 1.4% of Concord Investment Counsel Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 23rd largest position.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. increased its position 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. Bear Mountain Capital Inc. purchased a new stake in Salesforce in the 4th quarter worth $26,000. Signature Resources Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Salesforce during the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Red Tortoise LLC purchased a new position in Salesforce during the first quarter valued at $33,000. Finally, Kathleen S. Wright Associates Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Salesforce in the fourth quarter valued at about $31,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.43% of the company’s stock.

Salesforce Stock Performance

NYSE:CRM traded up $3.19 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $254.31. The stock had a trading volume of 2,015,065 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,905,667. The stock has a market capitalization of $246.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 45.68, a PEG ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 1.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 1.11. Salesforce, Inc. has a 1-year low of $193.68 and a 1-year high of $318.71. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $256.82 and its 200-day simple moving average is $275.90.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 29th. The CRM provider reported $2.44 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.38 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $9.13 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.15 billion. Salesforce had a return on equity of 11.57% and a net margin of 15.30%. The firm’s revenue was up 10.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.15 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 25th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, July 9th will be issued a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.63%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, July 9th. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 28.78%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 2,425 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $273.15, for a total transaction of $662,388.75. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 5,856 shares in the company, valued at $1,599,566.40. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, CEO Marc Benioff sold 15,000 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $278.06, for a total transaction of $4,170,900.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 12,913,721 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,590,789,261.26. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 2,425 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $273.15, for a total transaction of $662,388.75. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 5,856 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,599,566.40. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 439,152 shares of company stock worth $118,115,911 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Piper Sandler reduced their price target on shares of Salesforce from $300.00 to $250.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 30th. Canaccord Genuity Group cut their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $350.00 to $300.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 30th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $350.00 to $300.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 30th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on Salesforce from $300.00 to $250.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. Finally, Wedbush decreased their target price on Salesforce from $325.00 to $315.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, May 29th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating, twenty-five have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $292.79.

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.