Howe & Rusling Inc. Invests $283,000 in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Howe & Rusling Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 1,035 shares of the CRM provider’s stock, valued at approximately $283,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Piscataqua Savings Bank increased its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 2,400.0% in 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 in the last quarter. Clear Investment Research LLC boosted its position in shares of Salesforce by 816.7% during 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 last quarter. Stephens Consulting LLC increased its holdings in Salesforce by 3,125.0% in the 2nd quarter. Stephens Consulting LLC now owns 129 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 125 shares in the last quarter. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL bought a new stake in Salesforce in the 2nd quarter worth about $33,000. Finally, Godsey & Gibb Inc. raised its position in Salesforce by 300.0% in the 3rd quarter. Godsey & Gibb Inc. now owns 120 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 90 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.43% of the company’s stock.

Salesforce Trading Up 0.7 %

Shares of CRM stock opened at $325.70 on Thursday. 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 has a market capitalization of $311.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 56.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 1.29. Salesforce, Inc. has a 12-month low of $212.00 and a 12-month high of $348.86. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $291.21 and its 200-day moving average price is $267.72.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 the consensus estimate of $9.22 billion. Salesforce had a return on equity of 12.01% and a net margin of 15.44%. The company’s revenue was up 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.63 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 8th. Shareholders 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 yield of 0.49%. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 27.83%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Parker Harris sold 3,970 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $296.74, for a total value of $1,178,057.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 119,402 shares in the company, valued at approximately $35,431,349.48. The trade was a 3.22 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 413 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $285.29, for a total value of $117,824.77. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 7,006 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,998,741.74. This represents a 5.57 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 136,117 shares of company stock valued at $39,085,562 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CRM has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on shares of Salesforce from $320.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, October 28th. Sanford C. Bernstein boosted their target price on shares of Salesforce from $234.00 to $236.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. Evercore ISI reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $300.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a report on Monday, August 26th. Bank of America lifted their price objective on Salesforce from $325.00 to $390.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. Finally, Citigroup increased their target price on Salesforce from $260.00 to $290.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, August 26th. 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 company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Salesforce has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $326.19.

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.