Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. Increases Holdings in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 16.5% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 67,921 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 9,644 shares during the period. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc.’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $18,590,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Aviance Capital Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Salesforce by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. Aviance Capital Partners LLC now owns 6,797 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $1,860,000 after purchasing an additional 33 shares during the last quarter. Umpqua Bank increased its position in shares of Salesforce by 0.4% in the third quarter. Umpqua Bank now owns 7,708 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $2,110,000 after acquiring an additional 34 shares in the last quarter. Nvwm LLC raised its stake in shares of Salesforce by 1.4% in the 3rd quarter. Nvwm LLC now owns 2,565 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $667,000 after acquiring an additional 36 shares during the period. Prentice Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 1.5% during the 3rd quarter. Prentice Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,506 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $686,000 after acquiring an additional 37 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Private Wealth Management Group LLC increased its holdings in Salesforce by 11.6% in the 3rd quarter. Private Wealth Management Group LLC now owns 357 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $98,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares in the last quarter. 80.43% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Salesforce Trading Up 1.9 %

Shares of CRM stock opened at $342.12 on Friday. Salesforce, Inc. has a 1 year low of $212.00 and a 1 year high of $348.86. The firm has a market capitalization of $327.07 billion, a PE ratio of 59.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.04 and a beta of 1.29. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $294.61 and a two-hundred day moving average of $268.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a current ratio of 1.04.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, August 28th. The CRM provider reported $2.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.22 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.63 EPS. Salesforce’s revenue was up 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts expect that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.55 EPS for the current year.

Salesforce Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 8th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, September 18th were given a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, September 18th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.47%. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 27.83%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CRM has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. BNP Paribas upgraded Salesforce to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $345.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Friday, September 20th. Sanford C. Bernstein boosted their target price on shares of Salesforce from $234.00 to $236.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. Scotiabank started coverage on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Monday, November 18th. They set a “sector outperform” rating and a $425.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $300.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-eight have assigned a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $336.37.

Insider Buying and Selling at Salesforce

In other Salesforce news, COO Brian Millham sold 14,808 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $338.95, for a total value of $5,019,171.60. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Parker Harris sold 4,200 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $262.90, for a total transaction of $1,104,180.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 117,581 shares in the company, valued at $30,912,044.90. This represents a 3.45 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 147,991 shares of company stock valued at $43,333,238. 3.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.