Latitude Advisors LLC Takes Position in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Latitude Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 764 shares of the CRM provider’s stock, valued at approximately $209,000.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Prossimo Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Salesforce by 2.2% in the third quarter. Prossimo Advisors LLC now owns 3,334 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $913,000 after purchasing an additional 73 shares during the last quarter. New Covenant Trust Company N.A. purchased a new stake in Salesforce in the third quarter valued at $226,000. Janney Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Salesforce by 4.3% in the third quarter. Janney Capital Management LLC now owns 1,299 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $356,000 after purchasing an additional 53 shares during the last quarter. Optas LLC boosted its holdings in Salesforce by 1.5% in the third quarter. Optas LLC now owns 7,242 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $1,982,000 after purchasing an additional 107 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Princeton Global Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in Salesforce by 8,433.3% in the third quarter. Princeton Global Asset Management LLC now owns 256 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $70,000 after purchasing an additional 253 shares during the last quarter. 80.43% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 413 shares of Salesforce 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 $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. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In related news, insider Parker Harris sold 2,800 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $241.22, for a total transaction of $675,416.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 117,581 shares in the company, valued at approximately $28,362,888.82. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 413 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $285.29, for a total transaction of $117,824.77. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 7,006 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,998,741.74. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 148,303 shares of company stock valued at $42,024,385. 3.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have commented on CRM. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Salesforce from $320.00 to $330.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, August 29th. FBN Securities raised shares of Salesforce to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. Sanford C. Bernstein increased their target price on shares of Salesforce from $234.00 to $236.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. Wedbush increased their target price on shares of Salesforce from $315.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, September 27th. Finally, Loop Capital reissued a “hold” rating and set a $270.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. Nine 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. According to MarketBeat.com, Salesforce has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $313.37.

Salesforce Stock Up 1.1 %

CRM stock opened at $294.72 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $281.75 billion, a PE ratio of 51.26, a PEG ratio of 2.68 and a beta of 1.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a current ratio of 1.04. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $273.02 and its 200-day moving average price is $263.27. Salesforce, Inc. has a one year low of $204.69 and a one year high of $318.71.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last released its quarterly 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. The firm had revenue of $9.33 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.22 billion. Salesforce had a net margin of 15.44% and a return on equity of 12.01%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.63 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate 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. Stockholders 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 0.54%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, September 18th. Salesforce’s payout ratio is presently 27.83%.

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.