Baron Wealth Management LLC Has $1.01 Million Stock Holdings in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Baron Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 13.4% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 3,676 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 434 shares during the quarter. Salesforce makes up approximately 0.5% of Baron Wealth Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 26th largest position. Baron Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $1,006,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Piscataqua Savings Bank increased its stake in Salesforce by 2,400.0% during the second 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 increased its stake in 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 acquiring an additional 98 shares during the period. Stephens Consulting LLC increased its stake 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 period. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL bought a new position in Salesforce during the second quarter valued at about $33,000. Finally, Godsey & Gibb Inc. increased its stake in Salesforce by 300.0% during the third quarter. Godsey & Gibb Inc. now owns 120 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 90 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.43% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Salesforce

In other news, COO Brian Millham sold 4,056 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $261.50, for a total transaction of $1,060,644.00. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 413 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 7,006 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,998,741.74. This represents a 5.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 140,173 shares of company stock valued at $40,146,206 in the last ninety days. 3.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Salesforce Stock Performance

Shares of CRM stock opened at $322.25 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a current ratio of 1.04. The company has a market capitalization of $308.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 56.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 1.29. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $288.14 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $266.96. Salesforce, Inc. has a 52 week low of $212.00 and a 52 week 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 the consensus estimate of $2.36 by $0.20. The company had revenue of $9.33 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.22 billion. Salesforce had a net margin of 15.44% and a return on equity of 12.01%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 8.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.63 EPS. On average, analysts expect that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Announces Dividend

The firm 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 of this dividend was Wednesday, September 18th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.50%. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio is currently 27.83%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CRM has been the topic of several research reports. BNP Paribas upgraded Salesforce to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. 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. Northland Capmk upgraded Salesforce from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. TD Cowen upped their price objective on Salesforce from $285.00 to $290.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. Finally, Scotiabank started coverage on Salesforce in a research note on Monday. They issued a “sector outperform” rating and a $425.00 price objective on the stock. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-seven have issued a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $325.36.

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.