ProVise Management Group LLC Boosts Stake in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

ProVise Management Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 1.0% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 5,518 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 56 shares during the period. ProVise Management Group LLC’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $1,419,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of CRM. WCG Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Salesforce by 43.9% in the second quarter. WCG Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 16,448 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $4,229,000 after purchasing an additional 5,020 shares during the last quarter. MRP Capital Investments LLC purchased a new position in shares of Salesforce during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $419,000. LJI Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Salesforce during the second quarter worth approximately $414,000. Venator Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Salesforce in the second quarter worth $643,000. Finally, First Eagle Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in Salesforce by 35.8% in the second quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC now owns 2,624,665 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $674,801,000 after acquiring an additional 692,493 shares in the last quarter. 80.43% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Salesforce Trading Up 5.3 %

Shares of NYSE:CRM opened at $265.87 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $253.90 and a 200-day moving average of $267.00. 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 firm has a market cap of $257.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 47.82, a P/E/G ratio of 2.26 and a beta of 1.29. Salesforce, Inc. has a twelve month low of $193.68 and a twelve month high of $318.71.

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

Salesforce Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 8th. Investors of record on Wednesday, September 18th will be issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.60%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, September 18th. Salesforce’s payout ratio is currently 28.78%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Amy E. Weaver sold 897 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $255.78, for a total transaction of $229,434.66. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 51,109 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,072,660.02. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, insider Parker Harris sold 2,800 shares of the 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 owns 117,581 shares in the company, valued at approximately $28,362,888.82. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Amy E. Weaver sold 897 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $255.78, for a total value of $229,434.66. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 51,109 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,072,660.02. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 66,576 shares of company stock worth $16,957,573. 3.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently weighed in on CRM. DA Davidson boosted their target price on shares of Salesforce from $230.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. FBN Securities raised Salesforce to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Oppenheimer increased their target price on Salesforce from $280.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, August 29th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on Salesforce from $265.00 to $305.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Finally, Erste Group Bank reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Wednesday, September 11th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-six have given a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $306.00.

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.