Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) Shares Acquired by The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lifted its stake in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 7.2% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,783,790 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 185,990 shares during the period. Salesforce makes up 0.7% of The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 27th largest holding. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $715,709,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CRM. Gilbert & Cook Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Salesforce by 6.9% during the 4th quarter. Gilbert & Cook Inc. now owns 5,659 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $1,489,000 after acquiring an additional 366 shares in the last quarter. Aveo Capital Partners LLC raised its holdings in Salesforce by 44.7% during the fourth quarter. Aveo Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,605 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $422,000 after purchasing an additional 496 shares during the last quarter. 9258 Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in Salesforce by 24.0% during the fourth quarter. 9258 Wealth Management LLC now owns 6,483 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $1,706,000 after purchasing an additional 1,253 shares in the last quarter. Gryphon Financial Partners LLC grew its holdings in Salesforce by 32.4% in the fourth quarter. Gryphon Financial Partners LLC now owns 3,960 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $1,064,000 after purchasing an additional 970 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Focus Financial Network Inc. ADV purchased a new position in shares of Salesforce in the fourth quarter valued at $1,815,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.43% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Salesforce

In other news, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 413 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 23rd. The shares were 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 legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 413 shares of Salesforce 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 $105,637.14. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 6,431 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,644,921.18. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, COO Brian Millham sold 5,735 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $266.22, for a total value of $1,526,771.70. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 1,663 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $442,723.86. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 63,015 shares of company stock valued at $16,174,717. 3.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Salesforce Stock Performance

Salesforce stock opened at $275.67 on Friday. Salesforce, Inc. has a 12-month low of $193.68 and a 12-month high of $318.71. 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 $263.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 49.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 1.29. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $255.68 and its 200 day moving average price is $265.79.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, August 28th. The CRM provider reported $2.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.36 by $0.20. The business had revenue of $9.33 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.22 billion. Salesforce had a return on equity of 12.01% and a net margin of 15.44%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.63 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 8th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, September 18th will be paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.58%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, September 18th. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 28.78%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CRM has been the topic of several recent research reports. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $250.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. Barclays reduced their price target on shares of Salesforce from $355.00 to $305.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 30th. Sanford C. Bernstein raised their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $234.00 to $236.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. Piper Sandler raised Salesforce from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their target price for the company from $268.00 to $325.00 in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, JMP Securities reiterated a “market outperform” rating and set a $342.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a report on Wednesday, August 28th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-seven have issued a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $307.73.

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.