Verdence Capital Advisors LLC Buys 219 Shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Verdence Capital Advisors LLC increased its position in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 11.2% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 2,174 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 219 shares during the quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $595,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of CRM. Umpqua Bank grew its position in shares of Salesforce by 0.4% during the 3rd quarter. Umpqua Bank now owns 7,708 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $2,110,000 after purchasing an additional 34 shares in the last quarter. Nvwm LLC grew its position in Salesforce by 1.4% during the third quarter. Nvwm LLC now owns 2,565 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $667,000 after buying an additional 36 shares in the last quarter. Prentice Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in Salesforce by 1.5% in the 3rd quarter. Prentice Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,506 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $686,000 after acquiring an additional 37 shares during the last quarter. Private Wealth Management Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 11.6% in the 3rd quarter. Private Wealth Management Group LLC now owns 357 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $98,000 after acquiring an additional 37 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Pinnacle Wealth Planning Services Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 0.8% during the first quarter. Pinnacle Wealth Planning Services Inc. now owns 4,946 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $1,490,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.43% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Parker Harris sold 4,200 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $254.57, for a total transaction of $1,069,194.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 117,581 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $29,932,595.17. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $290.23, for a total value of $145,115.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 6,506 shares in the company, valued at $1,888,236.38. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Parker Harris sold 4,200 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $254.57, for a total value of $1,069,194.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 117,581 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $29,932,595.17. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 148,573 shares of company stock worth $42,319,874. Corporate insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

Salesforce Price Performance

Shares of NYSE CRM opened at $321.95 on Monday. Salesforce, Inc. has a 1 year low of $208.84 and a 1 year high of $322.81. The stock has a market capitalization of $307.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 55.99, a P/E/G ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 1.29. The company’s 50-day moving average is $277.76 and its 200 day moving average is $264.43. 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 (NYSE:CRM) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, August 28th. The CRM provider reported $2.56 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.36 by $0.20. The firm had revenue of $9.33 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.22 billion. Salesforce had a return on equity of 12.01% and a net margin of 15.44%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.63 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Salesforce Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.50%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, September 18th. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio is currently 27.83%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on CRM. BMO Capital Markets raised 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. TD Cowen raised their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $285.00 to $290.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on shares of Salesforce from $320.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, October 28th. Raymond James lifted their price target on Salesforce from $325.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. Finally, Northland Securities upgraded Salesforce from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $270.00 to $400.00 in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-six have issued a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Salesforce presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $313.37.

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.