Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) Shares Bought by Brown Brothers Harriman & Co.

Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. lifted its stake in shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 5.6% during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 21,263 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,120 shares during the quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co.’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $5,467,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CRM. Spartan Planning & Wealth Management raised its stake in shares of Salesforce by 66.3% in the 4th quarter. Spartan Planning & Wealth Management now owns 1,567 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $412,000 after buying an additional 625 shares in the last quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC raised its position in Salesforce by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC now owns 5,951,415 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $1,566,055,000 after acquiring an additional 18,397 shares in the last quarter. TD Asset Management Inc lifted its holdings in Salesforce by 32.6% in the 4th quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 789,525 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $207,756,000 after acquiring an additional 194,224 shares during the last quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC boosted its position in shares of Salesforce by 1.3% during 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 purchasing an additional 95 shares in the last quarter. Finally, M&G Plc acquired a new position in shares of Salesforce in the 1st quarter worth approximately $2,178,000. Institutional investors own 80.43% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Salesforce

In other Salesforce news, insider Parker Harris sold 4,200 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the insider now owns 117,581 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $30,920,275.57. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other Salesforce news, insider Sabastian Niles sold 2,484 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $244.81, for a total value of $608,108.04. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 828 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $202,702.68. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Parker Harris sold 4,200 shares of the firm’s 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 sale, the insider now owns 117,581 shares in the company, valued at $30,920,275.57. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 62,376 shares of company stock worth $15,878,005. 3.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CRM has been the subject of a number of research reports. Bank of America restated a “buy” rating and set a $325.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a report on Friday, September 6th. Jefferies Financial Group cut their target price on Salesforce from $360.00 to $350.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 30th. UBS Group upped their target price on Salesforce from $250.00 to $275.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $300.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $300.00 to $320.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-six have issued a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $305.55.

Salesforce Trading Up 0.9 %

Salesforce stock opened at $256.81 on Tuesday. Salesforce, Inc. has a one year low of $193.68 and a one year high of $318.71. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $253.55 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $267.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a current ratio of 1.04 and a quick ratio of 1.04. The company has a market capitalization of $248.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 46.19, a PEG ratio of 2.26 and a beta of 1.29.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 28th. The CRM provider reported $2.56 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.36 by $0.20. Salesforce had a return on equity of 12.01% and a net margin of 15.44%. The business had revenue of $9.33 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.22 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.63 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts forecast that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Announces Dividend

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 dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.62%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, September 18th. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio is currently 28.78%.

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.