Malaga Cove Capital LLC Grows Stock Holdings in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Malaga Cove Capital LLC lifted its stake in shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 34.2% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 3,542 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after buying an additional 902 shares during the quarter. Malaga Cove Capital LLC’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $969,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Umpqua Bank increased its holdings in Salesforce by 0.4% during the 3rd quarter. Umpqua Bank now owns 7,708 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $2,110,000 after purchasing an additional 34 shares during the period. Nvwm LLC grew its position in shares of Salesforce by 1.4% during the 3rd quarter. Nvwm LLC now owns 2,565 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $667,000 after buying an additional 36 shares in the last quarter. Prentice Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Salesforce by 1.5% during the third quarter. Prentice Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,506 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $686,000 after buying an additional 37 shares during the period. Private Wealth Management Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 11.6% in the third quarter. Private Wealth Management Group LLC now owns 357 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $98,000 after acquiring an additional 37 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Pinnacle Wealth Planning Services Inc. lifted its stake in Salesforce by 0.8% in the first quarter. Pinnacle Wealth Planning Services Inc. now owns 4,946 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $1,490,000 after acquiring an additional 38 shares during the period. 80.43% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Parker Harris sold 3,970 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $296.74, for a total value of $1,178,057.80. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 119,402 shares in the company, valued at $35,431,349.48. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other news, insider Miguel Milano sold 2,934 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $262.95, for a total transaction of $771,495.30. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 3,716 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $977,122.20. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Parker Harris sold 3,970 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $296.74, for a total transaction of $1,178,057.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 119,402 shares in the company, valued at approximately $35,431,349.48. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 149,973 shares of company stock valued at $42,672,142. 3.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Salesforce Stock Up 3.2 %

Salesforce stock opened at $306.90 on Thursday. Salesforce, Inc. has a 52 week low of $208.84 and a 52 week high of $318.71. The firm has a market cap of $293.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 53.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.67 and a beta of 1.29. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $275.30 and its 200 day moving average price is $263.86. 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 (NYSE:CRM) last posted its earnings results 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. The firm had revenue of $9.33 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.22 billion. Salesforce had a net margin of 15.44% and a return on equity of 12.01%. The business’s revenue was up 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.63 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.55 earnings per share 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 paid a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, September 18th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.52%. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio is presently 27.83%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have commented on CRM shares. BNP Paribas raised shares of Salesforce to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. Citigroup upped their target price on Salesforce from $260.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, August 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Salesforce from $300.00 to $310.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Salesforce from $320.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. Finally, Northland Securities upgraded Salesforce from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $270.00 to $400.00 in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-six have given a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $313.37.

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.