3,000 Shares in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) Purchased by Inspire Trust Co. N.A.

Inspire Trust Co. N.A. purchased a new position in shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM - Free Report) during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 3,000 shares of the CRM provider's stock, valued at approximately $821,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. State Street Corp increased its position in shares of Salesforce by 1.8% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 49,007,404 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $13,432,855,000 after purchasing an additional 864,193 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Salesforce by 1.3% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 19,780,318 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $5,395,132,000 after buying an additional 257,501 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in Salesforce by 2.6% in the 3rd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 12,276,551 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $3,360,215,000 after buying an additional 314,530 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc raised its position in shares of Salesforce by 2.2% in the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 8,329,687 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $2,141,562,000 after buying an additional 176,641 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 1.0% during the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 5,964,702 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $1,632,599,000 after acquiring an additional 57,825 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 80.43% of the company's stock.

Salesforce Trading Down 1.0 %

NYSE CRM traded down $3.73 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $354.30. 5,536,744 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,407,457. The firm has a market cap of $339.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 58.27, a PEG ratio of 3.21 and a beta of 1.30. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $316.14 and a 200 day simple moving average of $275.00. The company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. Salesforce, Inc. has a 1-year low of $212.00 and a 1-year high of $369.00.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, December 3rd. The CRM provider reported $2.41 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $2.44 by ($0.03). The company had revenue of $9.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.35 billion. Salesforce had a net margin of 15.96% and a return on equity of 12.34%. The firm's revenue was up 8.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.62 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 9th. Investors of record on Wednesday, December 18th will be paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.45%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, December 18th. Salesforce's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 26.32%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Parker Harris sold 4,200 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $257.04, for a total value of $1,079,568.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 117,581 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $30,223,020.24. This trade represents a 3.45 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, COO Brian Millham sold 5,735 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, September 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $266.22, for a total value of $1,526,771.70. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 1,663 shares of the company's stock, valued at $442,723.86. This trade represents a 77.52 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 138,498 shares of company stock worth $40,983,349. Corporate insiders own 3.20% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on CRM shares. Roth Mkm reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $335.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. UBS Group lifted their price target on Salesforce from $275.00 to $360.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. Guggenheim restated a "neutral" rating on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on Salesforce from $360.00 to $400.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Oppenheimer reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $415.00 target price (up previously from $385.00) on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have assigned a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Salesforce currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $377.24.

Salesforce 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.