Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) Stock Position Increased by Congress Asset Management Co.

Congress Asset Management Co. grew its position in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 13.3% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 300,242 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 35,320 shares during the period. Congress Asset Management Co.’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $82,179,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in CRM. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Salesforce by 1.2% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 84,635,254 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $25,490,446,000 after purchasing an additional 1,008,841 shares in the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors raised its position in shares of 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 buying an additional 3,044,611 shares in the last quarter. Capital International Investors lifted its stake in shares of Salesforce by 3.0% in 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 boosted its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 2.2% in the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 8,329,687 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $2,141,562,000 after acquiring an additional 176,641 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased 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 acquiring an additional 1,922,674 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.43% of the company’s stock.

Salesforce Stock Down 1.8 %

CRM stock traded down $5.40 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $291.00. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 859,852 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,270,727. The company has a market capitalization of $278.20 billion, a PE ratio of 50.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 1.30. Salesforce, Inc. has a 12 month low of $198.66 and a 12 month high of $318.71. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $271.75 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $263.02. 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 quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 28th. The CRM provider reported $2.56 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.36 by $0.20. Salesforce had a return on equity of 12.01% and a net margin of 15.44%. The business had revenue of $9.33 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.22 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.63 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts expect that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Salesforce Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 8th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, September 18th were issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.55%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, September 18th. Salesforce’s payout ratio is 27.83%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently commented on the company. JMP Securities reissued a “market outperform” rating and issued a $342.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Wednesday, August 28th. Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $260.00 to $290.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, August 26th. Bank of America reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $325.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a report on Friday, September 6th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on shares of Salesforce from $320.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $345.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a report on Friday, September 20th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-six have assigned a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $313.37.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Parker Harris sold 2,800 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $241.22, for a total transaction of $675,416.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 117,581 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $28,362,888.82. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other Salesforce news, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 413 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $285.29, for a total transaction of $117,824.77. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 7,006 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,998,741.74. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Parker Harris sold 2,800 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $241.22, for a total value of $675,416.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 117,581 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $28,362,888.82. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 148,303 shares of company stock worth $42,024,385. Corporate insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

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.