Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) Shares Purchased by Fiducient Advisors LLC

Fiducient Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 5.8% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,066 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 58 shares during the quarter. Fiducient Advisors LLC’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $274,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Salesforce by 186.7% in the 1st quarter. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. now owns 86 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 56 shares in the last quarter. Piscataqua Savings Bank raised its position in Salesforce by 2,400.0% during the second quarter. Piscataqua Savings Bank now owns 100 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 96 shares during the last quarter. Red Tortoise LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Salesforce in the first quarter valued at about $33,000. 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 during the last quarter. Finally, Creekmur Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Salesforce during the 4th quarter worth approximately $35,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.43% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently issued reports on CRM. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their target price on Salesforce from $360.00 to $350.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and issued a $345.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Friday. Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on Salesforce from $295.00 to $315.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. FBN Securities raised shares of Salesforce to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. Finally, Citigroup upped their target price on shares of Salesforce from $260.00 to $290.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, August 26th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-seven have issued a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $304.41.

Salesforce Stock Performance

NYSE:CRM opened at $243.97 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $254.52 and its 200 day simple moving average is $269.68. The company has a current ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. Salesforce, Inc. has a twelve month low of $193.68 and a twelve month high of $318.71. The firm has a market capitalization of $236.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 43.88, a PEG ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 1.29.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 28th. The CRM provider reported $2.56 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 company had revenue of $9.33 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.22 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.63 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 8.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.52 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 8th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, September 18th will be given a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.66%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, September 18th. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 28.78%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Marc Benioff sold 15,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $241.74, for a total transaction of $3,626,100.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 12,162,457 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,940,152,355.18. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other Salesforce news, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 413 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $255.78, for a total transaction of $105,637.14. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 6,431 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,644,921.18. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Marc Benioff sold 15,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $241.74, for a total value of $3,626,100.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 12,162,457 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,940,152,355.18. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 83,692 shares of company stock worth $21,006,957 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

Salesforce Company 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.