Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) Stake Boosted by Meridian Investment Counsel Inc.

Meridian Investment Counsel Inc. increased its holdings in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 32.1% in the second quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 3,013 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 733 shares during the quarter. Meridian Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $775,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Gray Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Salesforce in the fourth quarter worth approximately $213,000. Western Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in Salesforce by 21.2% during the 4th quarter. Western Wealth Management LLC now owns 7,999 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $2,105,000 after purchasing an additional 1,400 shares during the period. HTLF Bank acquired a new position in shares of Salesforce in the fourth quarter worth $331,000. Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Salesforce by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC now owns 41,459 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $10,910,000 after acquiring an additional 349 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Beaumont Financial Advisors LLC increased its position in Salesforce by 27.5% during the fourth quarter. Beaumont Financial Advisors LLC now owns 2,521 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $663,000 after buying an additional 544 shares during the last quarter. 80.43% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Salesforce Trading Up 0.9 %

Shares of NYSE CRM traded up $2.47 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $265.38. 4,495,712 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,601,337. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $249.47 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $272.87. The company has a market capitalization of $257.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 47.45, a P/E/G ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 1.29. 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 0.14, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 1.11.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 29th. The CRM provider reported $2.44 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.38 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $9.13 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.15 billion. Salesforce had a net margin of 15.30% and a return on equity of 11.57%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 10.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.15 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.47 EPS for the current year.

Salesforce Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 25th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, July 9th were issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.60%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, July 9th. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 28.78%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have issued reports on CRM. Raymond James restated a “strong-buy” rating and set a $325.00 price target (down from $380.00) on shares of Salesforce in a report on Thursday, May 30th. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $345.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. Robert W. Baird cut their price target on shares of Salesforce from $355.00 to $295.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. TD Cowen cut their price target on shares of Salesforce from $330.00 to $285.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. Finally, DA Davidson cut their price target on shares of Salesforce from $300.00 to $230.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating, twenty-five have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Salesforce presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $291.50.

Insider Buying and Selling at Salesforce

In related news, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 413 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $255.78, for a total transaction of $105,637.14. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 6,431 shares in the company, valued at $1,644,921.18. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 413 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $255.78, for a total transaction of $105,637.14. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 6,431 shares in the company, valued at $1,644,921.18. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Amy E. Weaver sold 897 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $255.78, for a total transaction of $229,434.66. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 51,109 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,072,660.02. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 172,136 shares of company stock valued at $43,631,609 in the last 90 days. 3.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.