Captrust Financial Advisors Buys 582 Shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Captrust Financial Advisors raised its stake in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 1.1% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 52,069 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 582 shares during the period. Captrust Financial Advisors’ holdings in Salesforce were worth $14,252,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in CRM. Piscataqua Savings Bank raised its holdings in Salesforce by 2,400.0% during the 2nd quarter. Piscataqua Savings Bank now owns 100 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 96 shares during the last quarter. Infrastructure Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in Salesforce during the third quarter worth $27,000. Clear Investment Research LLC lifted its holdings in Salesforce by 816.7% in the second quarter. Clear Investment Research LLC now owns 110 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 98 shares during the period. Stephens Consulting LLC boosted its position in Salesforce by 3,125.0% during the second quarter. Stephens Consulting LLC now owns 129 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 125 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL acquired a new stake in Salesforce during the 2nd quarter worth about $33,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.43% of the company’s stock.

Salesforce Stock Down 0.0 %

CRM stock opened at $329.99 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $315.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 57.39, a P/E/G ratio of 2.99 and a beta of 1.29. The company has a current ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $302.12 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $270.61. Salesforce, Inc. has a 1-year low of $212.00 and a 1-year high of $348.86.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last issued its quarterly 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 company had revenue of $9.33 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.22 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.63 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 8.5% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.54 EPS for the current year.

Salesforce Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced 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. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.48%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, September 18th. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio is currently 27.83%.

Insider Transactions at Salesforce

In related news, CFO Amy E. Weaver sold 897 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $285.29, for a total value of $255,905.13. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 52,930 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,100,399.70. This trade represents a 1.67 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, COO Brian Millham sold 5,735 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $266.22, for a total transaction of $1,526,771.70. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 1,663 shares in the company, valued at approximately $442,723.86. This trade represents a 77.52 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 144,510 shares of company stock worth $42,475,538 in the last quarter. Insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

CRM has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Evercore ISI restated an “outperform” rating and set a $300.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Monday, August 26th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $300.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. Wedbush increased their target price on shares of Salesforce from $325.00 to $375.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, November 25th. Erste Group Bank raised shares of Salesforce from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $305.00 to $385.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-eight have given a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $341.89.

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.