Prospera Financial Services Inc Has $15 Million Stock Holdings in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Prospera Financial Services Inc grew its stake in shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 8.0% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 54,791 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,047 shares during the period. Prospera Financial Services Inc’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $14,998,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Capital Research Global Investors grew its stake in Salesforce by 26.9% in the first quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 14,376,536 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $4,329,925,000 after acquiring an additional 3,044,611 shares during the period. Capital International Investors grew its position in Salesforce by 3.0% in the 1st quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 14,116,449 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $4,251,592,000 after purchasing an additional 407,834 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc grew its position in 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 stake in Salesforce by 48.3% during the 2nd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 5,906,877 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $1,518,658,000 after purchasing an additional 1,922,674 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Salesforce by 25.1% in the second quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 4,378,826 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $1,125,331,000 after buying an additional 877,495 shares in the last quarter. 80.43% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on CRM shares. Erste Group Bank restated a “hold” rating on shares of Salesforce in a report on Wednesday, September 11th. BNP Paribas raised Salesforce to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on Salesforce from $295.00 to $315.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Salesforce from $275.00 to $330.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and issued a $345.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Friday, September 20th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-seven have issued a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Salesforce currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $325.36.

Insider Activity

In other Salesforce news, insider Miguel Milano sold 2,934 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the insider now owns 3,716 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $977,122.20. This trade represents a 44.12 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, 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 approximately $35,431,349.48. This represents a 3.22 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 140,173 shares of company stock worth $40,146,206. Corporate insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

Salesforce Stock Performance

Shares of CRM stock opened at $322.25 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $308.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 56.04, a PEG ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 1.29. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $288.14 and a 200 day moving average of $266.96. Salesforce, Inc. has a 52 week low of $212.00 and a 52 week high of $348.86. 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 announced its earnings results on Wednesday, August 28th. The CRM provider reported $2.56 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.36 by $0.20. Salesforce had a net margin of 15.44% and a return on equity of 12.01%. The firm had revenue of $9.33 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.22 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.63 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts expect that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Salesforce Announces Dividend

The company 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 was Wednesday, September 18th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.50%. Salesforce’s payout ratio is 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.