Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) Shares Purchased by Meeder Asset Management Inc.

Meeder Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 67.3% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 666 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 268 shares during the quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $182,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Capital Research Global Investors increased its holdings in Salesforce by 26.9% in the 1st quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 14,376,536 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $4,329,925,000 after purchasing an additional 3,044,611 shares in the last quarter. Swedbank AB acquired a new position in Salesforce during the 1st quarter worth approximately $874,748,000. Veritas Asset Management LLP acquired a new stake in Salesforce in the third quarter valued at approximately $733,805,000. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its stake in shares of Salesforce by 48.3% during the second 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 during the period. Finally, AMF Tjanstepension AB lifted its position in shares of Salesforce by 376.1% during the second quarter. AMF Tjanstepension AB now owns 1,442,453 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $370,873,000 after purchasing an additional 1,139,472 shares in the last quarter. 80.43% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on CRM shares. Northland Capmk raised shares of Salesforce from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. FBN Securities upgraded Salesforce to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Roth Mkm reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $335.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. Oppenheimer reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $330.00 price target (up from $300.00) on shares of Salesforce in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, Erste Group Bank raised shares of Salesforce from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-eight have given a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $325.36.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 119,402 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $35,431,349.48. This trade represents a 3.22 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $290.23, for a total value of $145,115.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 6,506 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,888,236.38. The trade was a 7.14 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 140,173 shares of company stock worth $40,146,206 in the last quarter. 3.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Salesforce Trading Up 0.3 %

Shares of CRM stock opened at $323.29 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $289.68 and a 200 day simple moving average of $267.31. Salesforce, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $212.00 and a fifty-two week high of $348.86. The stock has a market capitalization of $309.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 56.22, 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, topping the consensus estimate of $2.36 by $0.20. The company had revenue of $9.33 billion for 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 quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.63 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 8th. Shareholders 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 yield of 0.49%. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio is presently 27.83%.

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.