Verde Capital Management Boosts Stock Position in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Verde Capital Management increased its holdings in shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 1.2% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 10,078 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after buying an additional 115 shares during the period. Salesforce comprises approximately 0.8% of Verde Capital Management’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 24th largest holding. Verde Capital Management’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $2,758,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. AA Financial Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Salesforce by 8.0% during the 3rd quarter. AA Financial Advisors LLC now owns 6,265 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $1,715,000 after purchasing an additional 466 shares during the last quarter. Embree Financial Group increased its stake in Salesforce by 6.5% during the 3rd quarter. Embree Financial Group now owns 4,478 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $1,226,000 after buying an additional 272 shares in the last quarter. Etesian Wealth Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 18.2% during the third quarter. Etesian Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 5,297 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $1,450,000 after acquiring an additional 816 shares during the last quarter. Harfst & Associates Inc. lifted its position in shares of Salesforce by 28.0% in the third quarter. Harfst & Associates Inc. now owns 7,093 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $1,941,000 after acquiring an additional 1,553 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Clarity Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Salesforce by 6.1% in the third quarter. Clarity Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,738 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $476,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.43% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Salesforce news, insider Parker Harris sold 2,800 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $241.22, for a total transaction of $675,416.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 117,581 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $28,362,888.82. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In related news, insider Parker Harris sold 2,800 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $241.22, for a total transaction of $675,416.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 117,581 shares in the company, valued at $28,362,888.82. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, COO Brian Millham sold 8,427 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $280.00, for a total value of $2,359,560.00. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 80,612 shares of company stock worth $21,429,961. Corporate insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

Salesforce Price Performance

Shares of NYSE CRM opened at $292.94 on Friday. 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 cap of $283.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 52.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 1.30. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $266.65 and its two-hundred day moving average is $263.49. Salesforce, Inc. has a 1-year low of $193.68 and a 1-year high of $318.71.

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

Salesforce Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 8th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, September 18th were given a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, September 18th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.55%. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 28.78%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CRM has been the topic of a number of research reports. Raymond James raised their price objective on Salesforce from $325.00 to $350.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Piper Sandler downgraded shares of Salesforce from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Evercore ISI reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $300.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Monday, August 26th. Robert W. Baird raised their target price on shares of Salesforce from $295.00 to $315.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and issued a $345.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Friday, September 20th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-six have assigned a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $311.66.

About Salesforce

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.