Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) Shares Sold by Northstar Group Inc.

Northstar Group Inc. cut its stake in shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 1.1% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 6,776 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after selling 75 shares during the quarter. Northstar Group Inc.’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $1,855,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of CRM. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Salesforce by 186.7% during the 1st quarter. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. now owns 86 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 56 shares during the last quarter. Piscataqua Savings Bank raised its position in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 96 shares during the period. Clear Investment Research LLC raised its holdings in Salesforce by 816.7% in the 2nd quarter. Clear Investment Research LLC now owns 110 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 98 shares during the period. Red Tortoise LLC purchased a new stake in Salesforce in the 1st quarter worth $33,000. Finally, Stephens Consulting LLC lifted its stake in Salesforce by 3,125.0% in 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 in the last quarter. 80.43% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Salesforce Stock Performance

CRM traded down $0.55 during trading on Thursday, hitting $287.37. The stock had a trading volume of 461,437 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,487,602. Salesforce, Inc. has a twelve month low of $193.68 and a twelve month high of $318.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a current ratio of 1.04. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $260.30 and its 200 day moving average price is $264.11. The firm has a market capitalization of $278.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 51.78, a PEG ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 1.30.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 28th. The CRM provider reported $2.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.36 by $0.20. The firm had revenue of $9.33 billion during 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%. Salesforce’s revenue was up 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.63 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 8th. Investors of record on Wednesday, September 18th were paid a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.56%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, September 18th. Salesforce’s payout ratio is currently 28.78%.

Insider Transactions at Salesforce

In other news, insider Parker Harris sold 4,200 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $288.42, for a total transaction of $1,211,364.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 118,514 shares in the company, valued at $34,181,807.88. This trade 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 through this link. In other Salesforce news, Director Maynard G. Webb, Jr. sold 9,170 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $276.32, for a total value of $2,533,854.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 1,363 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $376,624.16. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Parker Harris sold 4,200 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $288.42, for a total transaction of $1,211,364.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 118,514 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $34,181,807.88. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 80,612 shares of company stock valued at $21,283,087 over the last three months. 3.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently commented on CRM. JMP Securities reiterated a “market outperform” rating and set a $342.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Wednesday, August 28th. Northland Securities upgraded Salesforce from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $270.00 to $400.00 in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Roth Mkm reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $335.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. Wedbush upped their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $315.00 to $325.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, September 27th. Finally, DA Davidson boosted their target price on shares of Salesforce from $230.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-seven have issued a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Salesforce presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $310.74.

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.