Bridges Investment Management Inc. Raises Stake in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Bridges Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 263.7% in the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 4,714 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after buying an additional 3,418 shares during the period. Bridges Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $1,212,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in CRM. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 186.7% in the 1st quarter. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. now owns 86 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 56 shares during the period. Piscataqua Savings Bank increased its position in Salesforce by 2,400.0% in the second quarter. Piscataqua Savings Bank now owns 100 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 96 shares during the last quarter. Clear Investment Research LLC raised its stake in shares of Salesforce by 816.7% in the second quarter. Clear Investment Research LLC now owns 110 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 98 shares during the period. Red Tortoise LLC bought a new stake in shares of Salesforce in the first quarter valued at $33,000. Finally, Stephens Consulting LLC lifted its position in shares of Salesforce by 3,125.0% during the 2nd quarter. Stephens Consulting LLC now owns 129 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 125 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.43% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on CRM shares. Loop Capital reissued a “hold” rating and issued a $270.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a report on Thursday. JMP Securities reiterated a “market outperform” rating and issued a $342.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Wednesday, August 28th. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $300.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Thursday. Truist Financial reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $315.00 price objective (up from $300.00) on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group boosted their target price on shares of Salesforce from $300.00 to $315.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-six have assigned a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Salesforce currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $306.00.

Salesforce Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE CRM opened at $266.57 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $254.14 and its 200 day moving average is $266.67. The stock has a market cap of $258.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 47.94, a P/E/G ratio of 2.26 and a beta of 1.29. Salesforce, Inc. has a 1-year low of $193.68 and a 1-year high of $318.71. The company has a current ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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. Salesforce had a net margin of 15.44% and a return on equity of 12.01%. The firm had revenue of $9.33 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.22 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.63 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 8.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 8th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, September 18th will be given a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, September 18th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.60%. Salesforce’s payout ratio is 28.78%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 413 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $255.78, for a total value of $105,637.14. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 6,431 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,644,921.18. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, insider Srinivas Tallapragada sold 942 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction on Monday, June 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $242.32, for a total value of $228,265.44. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 22,154 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,368,357.28. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 413 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $255.78, for a total transaction of $105,637.14. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 6,431 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,644,921.18. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 66,576 shares of company stock valued at $16,957,573. 3.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.