Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. Grows Position in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. grew its position in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 7.9% during the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 393,484 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 28,852 shares during the quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co.’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $101,170,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Spartan Planning & Wealth Management lifted its position in Salesforce by 66.3% during the fourth quarter. Spartan Planning & Wealth Management now owns 1,567 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $412,000 after buying an additional 625 shares in the last quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Salesforce by 1.3% in the 4th quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC now owns 7,160 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $1,983,000 after acquiring an additional 95 shares during the period. XN LP lifted its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 24.2% during the 2nd quarter. XN LP now owns 464,489 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $119,420,000 after acquiring an additional 90,616 shares in the last quarter. M&G Plc purchased a new stake in Salesforce during the 1st quarter worth $2,178,000. Finally, First Foundation Advisors increased its holdings in Salesforce by 38.0% in the 1st quarter. First Foundation Advisors now owns 828 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $249,000 after purchasing an additional 228 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.43% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have commented on the company. Oppenheimer boosted their price objective on Salesforce from $280.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Salesforce from $250.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. DA Davidson increased their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $230.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. BNP Paribas upgraded shares of Salesforce to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. Finally, Loop Capital restated a “hold” rating and issued a $270.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-seven have assigned a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $308.03.

Insider Activity at Salesforce

In other Salesforce news, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 413 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $255.78, for a total value of $105,637.14. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 6,431 shares in the company, valued at $1,644,921.18. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other Salesforce news, CFO Amy E. Weaver sold 897 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 51,109 shares in the company, valued at $13,072,660.02. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 413 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $255.78, for a total value of $105,637.14. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 6,431 shares in the company, valued at $1,644,921.18. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 72,185 shares of company stock worth $18,708,571 in the last ninety days. 3.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Salesforce Stock Up 0.3 %

NYSE:CRM opened at $276.64 on Friday. 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 stock has a 50 day moving average of $256.26 and a 200-day moving average of $265.30. The firm has a market capitalization of $268.06 billion, a PE ratio of 49.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 1.29. Salesforce, Inc. has a 52 week low of $193.68 and a 52 week high of $318.71.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last issued 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. The firm had revenue of $9.33 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.22 billion. Salesforce had a return on equity of 12.01% and a net margin of 15.44%. The firm’s revenue was up 8.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.63 EPS. Analysts predict that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.54 EPS for the current year.

Salesforce Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 8th. Investors of record on Wednesday, September 18th will be issued a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, September 18th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.58%. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 28.78%.

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.