Waters Parkerson & CO. LLC Grows Stock Position in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Waters Parkerson & CO. LLC grew its position in shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 17.5% during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,757 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 262 shares during the period. Waters Parkerson & CO. LLC’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $452,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in CRM. Fox Hill Wealth Management raised its stake in Salesforce by 4.0% during the first quarter. Fox Hill Wealth Management now owns 985 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $297,000 after buying an additional 38 shares in the last quarter. Pinnacle Wealth Planning Services Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 0.8% in the 1st quarter. Pinnacle Wealth Planning Services Inc. now owns 4,946 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $1,490,000 after acquiring an additional 38 shares during the last quarter. Glassman Wealth Services raised its position in shares of Salesforce by 2.9% during the 4th quarter. Glassman Wealth Services now owns 1,369 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $360,000 after acquiring an additional 39 shares in the last quarter. Blue Barn Wealth LLC boosted its holdings in Salesforce by 1.8% in the first quarter. Blue Barn Wealth LLC now owns 2,207 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $665,000 after purchasing an additional 39 shares during the period. Finally, Catalyst Financial Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 0.8% during the second quarter. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC now owns 4,876 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $1,254,000 after purchasing an additional 39 shares during the period. 80.43% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Salesforce Stock Up 5.3 %

CRM stock opened at $265.87 on Friday. Salesforce, Inc. has a twelve month low of $193.68 and a twelve month high of $318.71. The company has a market cap of $257.63 billion, a PE ratio of 47.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.26 and a beta of 1.29. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $253.90 and its 200 day simple moving average is $267.00. 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 quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 28th. The CRM provider reported $2.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.36 by $0.20. The firm had revenue of $9.33 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.22 billion. Salesforce had a net margin of 15.44% and a return on equity of 12.01%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.63 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Salesforce Announces Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Salesforce news, insider Parker Harris sold 4,200 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $262.97, for a total transaction of $1,104,474.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 117,581 shares in the company, valued at $30,920,275.57. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, insider Parker Harris sold 4,200 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $262.97, for a total transaction of $1,104,474.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 117,581 shares in the company, valued at approximately $30,920,275.57. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Srinivas Tallapragada sold 942 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $242.32, for a total transaction of $228,265.44. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 22,154 shares in the company, valued at $5,368,357.28. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 66,576 shares of company stock worth $16,957,573 in the last 90 days. 3.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CRM has been the subject of several research reports. DA Davidson lifted their price target on shares of Salesforce from $230.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their target price on Salesforce from $360.00 to $350.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 30th. Erste Group Bank reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Wednesday, September 11th. Sanford C. Bernstein boosted their price objective on Salesforce from $234.00 to $236.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised their target price on Salesforce from $295.00 to $315.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-six have assigned a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price 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.