B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG Takes $40.62 Million Position in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG bought a new position in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) in the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm bought 148,417 shares of the CRM provider’s stock, valued at approximately $40,622,000.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Piscataqua Savings Bank boosted its stake in Salesforce by 2,400.0% in the 2nd quarter. Piscataqua Savings Bank now owns 100 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 96 shares in the last quarter. Clear Investment Research LLC boosted its stake in Salesforce by 816.7% in the 2nd quarter. Clear Investment Research LLC now owns 110 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 98 shares in the last quarter. Godsey & Gibb Inc. boosted its stake in Salesforce by 300.0% in the 3rd quarter. Godsey & Gibb Inc. now owns 120 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 90 shares in the last quarter. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL acquired a new stake in Salesforce in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $33,000. Finally, Stephens Consulting LLC boosted its stake in Salesforce by 3,125.0% in the 2nd quarter. Stephens Consulting LLC now owns 129 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 125 shares in the last quarter. 80.43% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CRM has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. TD Cowen lifted their target price on shares of Salesforce from $285.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and set a $345.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Friday, September 20th. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $300.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. Piper Sandler cut shares of Salesforce from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, Evercore ISI restated an “outperform” rating and set a $300.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Monday, August 26th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-seven have assigned a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $325.36.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Parker Harris sold 4,200 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $262.90, for a total value of $1,104,180.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 117,581 shares in the company, valued at $30,912,044.90. This trade represents a 3.45 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, COO Brian Millham sold 60,522 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $300.00, for a total transaction of $18,156,600.00. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 140,173 shares of company stock valued at $40,146,206. 3.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Salesforce Trading Down 0.9 %

Shares of CRM opened at $322.25 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. Salesforce, Inc. has a 12-month low of $212.00 and a 12-month high of $348.86. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $288.14 and a 200 day moving average price of $266.96. The firm has a market capitalization of $308.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 56.04, a P/E/G ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 1.29.

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 analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.36 by $0.20. The firm had revenue of $9.33 billion during 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%. Salesforce’s quarterly revenue was up 8.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.63 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.55 EPS for the current 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 issued a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, September 18th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.50%. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 27.83%.

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.