Essex Savings Bank Acquires 225 Shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Essex Savings Bank increased its holdings in shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 5.2% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 4,551 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 225 shares during the quarter. Essex Savings Bank’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $1,246,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Piscataqua Savings Bank grew its position in shares of Salesforce by 2,400.0% in the second quarter. Piscataqua Savings Bank now owns 100 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 96 shares in the last quarter. Clear Investment Research LLC grew its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 98 shares in the last quarter. Godsey & Gibb Inc. grew its position in shares of Salesforce by 300.0% in the third quarter. Godsey & Gibb Inc. now owns 120 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 90 shares in the last quarter. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL purchased a new position in shares of Salesforce in the second quarter valued at $33,000. Finally, Stephens Consulting LLC grew its position in shares of Salesforce by 3,125.0% in the second quarter. Stephens Consulting LLC now owns 129 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 125 shares in the last quarter. 80.43% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Salesforce

In other news, insider Sabastian Niles sold 2,484 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $244.81, for a total value of $608,108.04. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 828 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $202,702.68. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, insider Sabastian Niles sold 2,484 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $244.81, for a total value of $608,108.04. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 828 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $202,702.68. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Amy E. Weaver sold 897 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $285.29, for a total value of $255,905.13. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 52,930 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $15,100,399.70. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 148,573 shares of company stock valued at $42,319,874. Corporate insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on CRM. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $300.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. JMP Securities restated a “market outperform” rating and set a $342.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Wednesday, August 28th. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on Salesforce from $295.00 to $315.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on Salesforce from $265.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. Finally, Citigroup boosted their target price on Salesforce from $260.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, August 26th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-six have given a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $313.37.

Salesforce Trading Up 3.6 %

CRM opened at $321.95 on Friday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $277.76 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $264.52. The firm has a market capitalization of $307.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 55.99, a PEG ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 1.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a current ratio of 1.04 and a quick ratio of 1.04. Salesforce, Inc. has a one year low of $208.84 and a one year high of $322.81.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 28th. The CRM provider reported $2.56 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.36 by $0.20. The business had revenue of $9.33 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.22 billion. Salesforce had a return on equity of 12.01% and a net margin of 15.44%. Salesforce’s quarterly revenue was up 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.63 EPS. Analysts predict that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.55 EPS for the current year.

Salesforce Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared 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. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.50%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, September 18th. Salesforce’s payout ratio is 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.