Symphony Financial Ltd. Co. Boosts Holdings in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Symphony Financial Ltd. Co. lifted its stake in shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 5.3% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 14,900 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 744 shares during the period. Symphony Financial Ltd. Co.’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $4,117,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Global Assets Advisory LLC purchased a new position in shares of Salesforce in the first quarter worth about $8,557,000. Mechanics Bank Trust Department purchased a new position in Salesforce in the 1st quarter worth approximately $230,000. Fermata Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Salesforce during the 1st quarter worth approximately $418,000. Hoxton Planning & Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Salesforce in the first quarter valued at approximately $220,000. Finally, Exchange Bank purchased a new position in Salesforce during the first quarter worth approximately $229,000. 80.43% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Salesforce Stock Performance

Shares of CRM stock traded down $2.99 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $288.30. The stock had a trading volume of 2,260,902 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,375,786. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $279.36 billion, a PE ratio of 51.96, a PEG ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 1.30. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $267.44 and its 200 day moving average is $263.18. 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 data 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. The company 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%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.63 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Announces Dividend

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

Insider Activity at Salesforce

In other news, insider Parker Harris sold 942 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $264.78, for a total transaction of $249,422.76. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 118,514 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $31,380,136.92. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other Salesforce news, COO Brian Millham sold 8,427 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction dated 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 legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Parker Harris sold 942 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $264.78, for a total transaction of $249,422.76. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 118,514 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $31,380,136.92. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 76,110 shares of company stock worth $20,292,760 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CRM has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. FBN Securities raised Salesforce to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. Evercore ISI reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $300.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Monday, August 26th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Salesforce from $320.00 to $330.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Salesforce from $250.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Finally, TD Cowen increased their price objective on Salesforce from $285.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-six have issued a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Salesforce currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $311.66.

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.