Handelsbanken Fonder AB Purchases 2,701 Shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Handelsbanken Fonder AB grew its position in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 0.8% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 332,455 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,701 shares during the period. Handelsbanken Fonder AB’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $90,996,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in CRM. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Salesforce by 186.7% during the first quarter. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. now owns 86 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 56 shares in the last quarter. Piscataqua Savings Bank raised its position in shares of Salesforce by 2,400.0% during the second quarter. Piscataqua Savings Bank now owns 100 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 96 shares during the period. Clear Investment Research LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 816.7% during the 2nd quarter. Clear Investment Research LLC now owns 110 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 98 shares in the last quarter. Red Tortoise LLC acquired a new position in shares of Salesforce in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Finally, Stephens Consulting LLC increased its stake in Salesforce by 3,125.0% during the 2nd quarter. Stephens Consulting LLC now owns 129 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 125 shares in the last quarter. 80.43% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CRM has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $345.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Friday, September 20th. Evercore ISI reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $300.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Monday, August 26th. JMP Securities reissued a “market outperform” rating and issued a $342.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Wednesday, August 28th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on Salesforce from $265.00 to $305.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. Finally, Erste Group Bank reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Wednesday, September 11th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-seven have given a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $310.74.

Salesforce Price Performance

NYSE CRM traded up $6.84 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $287.75. The company had a trading volume of 6,131,284 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,543,515. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $258.53 and a 200-day moving average price of $264.52. The company has a market capitalization of $278.83 billion, a PE ratio of 51.75, a P/E/G ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 1.30. 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, Inc. has a twelve month low of $193.68 and a twelve month high of $318.71.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 28th. The CRM provider reported $2.56 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.36 by $0.20. The business 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%. Salesforce’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.63 earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 8th. Investors 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 dividend yield of 0.56%. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio is 28.78%.

Insider Activity at Salesforce

In other Salesforce news, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 413 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $255.78, for a total transaction of $105,637.14. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 6,431 shares in the company, valued at $1,644,921.18. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, COO Brian Millham sold 8,427 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $280.00, for a total transaction of $2,359,560.00. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 413 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 transaction of $105,637.14. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 6,431 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,644,921.18. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 80,612 shares of company stock valued at $21,133,273 over the last three months. 3.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.