Independent Advisor Alliance Increases Stake in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Independent Advisor Alliance boosted its holdings in shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 6.4% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 35,103 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,107 shares during the period. Independent Advisor Alliance’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $9,608,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of CRM. 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 valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 96 shares during the period. Clear Investment Research LLC raised its stake 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 last quarter. Stephens Consulting LLC grew its stake in shares of Salesforce by 3,125.0% during the second quarter. Stephens Consulting LLC now owns 129 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 125 shares during the last quarter. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL purchased a new position in shares of Salesforce in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Finally, Godsey & Gibb Inc. grew its position in Salesforce by 300.0% during the 3rd quarter. Godsey & Gibb Inc. now owns 120 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 90 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.43% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently weighed in on CRM shares. TD Cowen lifted their price target on Salesforce from $290.00 to $340.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday. Northland Capmk raised shares of Salesforce from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Salesforce from $275.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday. Cfra set a $343.00 price target on Salesforce in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $300.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a research note 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 stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $336.37.

Insider Activity

In other Salesforce news, insider Parker Harris sold 4,200 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 117,581 shares in the company, valued at approximately $30,912,044.90. The trade was a 3.45 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 413 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $285.29, for a total transaction of $117,824.77. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 7,006 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,998,741.74. The trade was a 5.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 147,991 shares of company stock worth $43,333,238 in the last 90 days. 3.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Salesforce Stock Up 1.9 %

Shares of NYSE:CRM opened at $342.02 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $326.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 59.48, a PEG ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 1.29. Salesforce, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $212.00 and a fifty-two week high of $348.86. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $294.61 and its 200-day simple moving average is $268.53. The company has a quick ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last issued its earnings results 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. Salesforce had a return on equity of 12.01% and a net margin of 15.44%. The business had revenue of $9.33 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.22 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.63 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Salesforce Announces Dividend

The business 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 was Wednesday, September 18th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.47%. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 27.83%.

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.