YHB Investment Advisors Inc. Increases Stake in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

YHB Investment Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 4.4% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 19,233 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 811 shares during the quarter. YHB Investment Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $5,264,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Capital Research Global Investors lifted its position in Salesforce by 26.9% during the first quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 14,376,536 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $4,329,925,000 after purchasing an additional 3,044,611 shares in the last quarter. GQG Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Salesforce in the first quarter worth about $910,220,000. Swedbank AB purchased a new position in shares of Salesforce during the 1st quarter valued at about $874,748,000. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its stake in shares of Salesforce by 48.3% during the 2nd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 5,906,877 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $1,518,658,000 after acquiring an additional 1,922,674 shares during the period. Finally, AMF Tjanstepension AB increased its holdings in Salesforce by 376.1% in the 2nd quarter. AMF Tjanstepension AB now owns 1,442,453 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $370,873,000 after acquiring an additional 1,139,472 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.43% of the company’s stock.

Salesforce Stock Down 1.4 %

Shares of NYSE:CRM opened at $284.37 on Thursday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $268.70 and a 200-day simple moving average of $263.24. Salesforce, Inc. has a 1 year low of $193.68 and a 1 year high of $318.71. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $275.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 51.15, a PEG ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 1.30.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 28th. The CRM provider reported $2.56 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.63 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Salesforce Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 8th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, September 18th were paid a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, September 18th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.56%. Salesforce’s payout ratio is currently 28.78%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CRM has been the topic of several analyst reports. Roth Mkm reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $335.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a report on Thursday, August 29th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on shares of Salesforce from $265.00 to $305.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. Erste Group Bank reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Salesforce in a report on Wednesday, September 11th. Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of Salesforce from $260.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, August 26th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating and set a $345.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Friday, September 20th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-six have given a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Salesforce has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $311.66.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 413 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $285.29, for a total value of $117,824.77. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 7,006 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,998,741.74. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, insider Parker Harris sold 4,200 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $289.87, for a total transaction of $1,217,454.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 118,514 shares in the company, valued at $34,353,653.18. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 413 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 transaction of $117,824.77. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 7,006 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,998,741.74. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 86,812 shares of company stock worth $23,418,916 in the last three months. 3.20% of the stock is owned by 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.