W.G. Shaheen & Associates DBA Whitney & Co Acquires 182 Shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

W.G. Shaheen & Associates DBA Whitney & Co grew its holdings in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 34,204 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 182 shares during the period. W.G. Shaheen & Associates DBA Whitney & Co’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $9,362,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Capital Research Global Investors increased its holdings in Salesforce by 26.9% during the 1st quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 14,376,536 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $4,329,925,000 after acquiring an additional 3,044,611 shares during the period. Capital International Investors increased its holdings in Salesforce by 3.0% during the 1st quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 14,116,449 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $4,251,592,000 after acquiring an additional 407,834 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc increased its holdings in Salesforce by 2.2% during the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 8,329,687 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $2,141,562,000 after acquiring an additional 176,641 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its holdings 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 worth $1,518,658,000 after acquiring an additional 1,922,674 shares during the period. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its holdings in Salesforce by 25.1% during the 2nd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 4,378,826 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $1,125,331,000 after acquiring an additional 877,495 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 80.43% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Salesforce

In related news, COO Brian Millham sold 60,522 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $300.00, for a total value of $18,156,600.00. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Parker Harris sold 3,970 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $296.74, for a total transaction of $1,178,057.80. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 119,402 shares in the company, valued at $35,431,349.48. This represents a 3.22 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 140,173 shares of company stock valued at $40,146,206 in the last three months. 3.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CRM has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. TD Cowen upped their target price on shares of Salesforce from $285.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Northland Capmk raised shares of Salesforce from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $234.00 to $236.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Loop Capital lifted their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $270.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, November 14th. Finally, Scotiabank began coverage on shares of Salesforce in a report on Monday. They set a “sector outperform” rating and a $425.00 price objective for the company. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-seven have given a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $325.36.

Salesforce Stock Down 0.9 %

Shares of Salesforce stock 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. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $288.14 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $266.96. The company has a market cap of $308.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 56.04, a PEG ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 1.29. Salesforce, Inc. has a 12-month low of $212.00 and a 12-month high of $348.86.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, August 28th. The CRM provider reported $2.56 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.36 by $0.20. The firm had revenue of $9.33 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.22 billion. Salesforce had a net margin of 15.44% and a return on equity of 12.01%. The company’s revenue was up 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.63 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.55 EPS for the current year.

Salesforce Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 8th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, September 18th were given a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.50%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, September 18th. Salesforce’s dividend 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.