Saturna Capital Corp Boosts Stake in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Saturna Capital Corp lifted its stake in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 3.1% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 6,747 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the period. Saturna Capital Corp’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $1,847,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of CRM. Capital Research Global Investors increased its stake in shares of Salesforce by 26.9% in the 1st quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 14,376,536 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $4,329,925,000 after purchasing an additional 3,044,611 shares in the last quarter. GQG Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Salesforce in the 1st quarter worth $910,220,000. Swedbank AB purchased a new stake in shares of Salesforce in the 1st quarter worth $874,748,000. Veritas Asset Management LLP purchased a new stake in shares of Salesforce in the 3rd quarter worth $733,805,000. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its stake in shares of Salesforce by 48.3% in the 2nd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 5,906,877 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $1,518,658,000 after purchasing an additional 1,922,674 shares in the last quarter. 80.43% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Salesforce

In other Salesforce news, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 413 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $285.29, for a total value of $117,824.77. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly 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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, insider Sabastian Niles sold 2,484 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $244.81, for a total transaction of $608,108.04. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 828 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $202,702.68. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 413 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $285.29, for a total transaction of $117,824.77. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 7,006 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,998,741.74. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 144,373 shares of company stock valued at $41,250,680. 3.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Salesforce Stock Up 1.0 %

Shares of NYSE CRM opened at $344.70 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a current ratio of 1.04 and a quick ratio of 1.04. The company has a market cap of $329.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 59.34, a PEG ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 1.29. Salesforce, Inc. has a 1 year low of $212.00 and a 1 year high of $348.86. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $281.40 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $265.31.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 28th. The CRM provider reported $2.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.36 by $0.20. The business had revenue of $9.33 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.22 billion. Salesforce had a net margin of 15.44% and a return on equity of 12.01%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.63 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Salesforce Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 8th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, September 18th were issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.46%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, September 18th. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 27.83%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

CRM has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Erste Group Bank reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Wednesday, September 11th. Loop Capital reiterated a “hold” rating and issued a $270.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on Salesforce from $350.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday. Canaccord Genuity Group increased their price target on Salesforce from $300.00 to $315.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. Finally, Bank of America reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $325.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Friday, September 6th. 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 company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Salesforce presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $316.37.

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.