148,417 Shares in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) Bought by B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG

B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG acquired a new stake in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM - Free Report) during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 148,417 shares of the CRM provider's stock, valued at approximately $40,622,000.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Bessemer Group Inc. raised its stake in Salesforce by 103.5% during the first quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 54,761 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $16,494,000 after acquiring an additional 27,850 shares in the last quarter. Vaughan David Investments LLC IL bought a new position in Salesforce in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $324,000. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund boosted its position in Salesforce by 31.0% in the first quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 81,100 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $24,426,000 after buying an additional 19,200 shares in the last quarter. InterOcean Capital Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Salesforce by 18.0% during the first quarter. InterOcean Capital Group LLC now owns 4,062 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $1,223,000 after buying an additional 621 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Evermay Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 5.1% during the first quarter. Evermay Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,879 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $566,000 after buying an additional 91 shares in the last quarter. 80.43% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CRM has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Sanford C. Bernstein upped their target price on Salesforce from $234.00 to $236.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, August 29th. JMP Securities reissued a "market outperform" rating and set a $342.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a report on Wednesday, August 28th. Wedbush raised their price target on shares of Salesforce from $315.00 to $325.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, September 27th. Erste Group Bank raised shares of Salesforce from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Phillip Securities reaffirmed an "accumulate" rating and set a $305.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Friday, August 30th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-eight have issued a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $325.36.

Insider Activity at Salesforce

In other news, insider Miguel Milano sold 2,934 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $262.95, for a total transaction of $771,495.30. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 3,716 shares in the company, valued at approximately $977,122.20. This trade represents a 44.12 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Parker Harris sold 4,200 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $262.90, for a total transaction of $1,104,180.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 117,581 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $30,912,044.90. This represents a 3.45 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 140,173 shares of company stock worth $40,146,206. Corporate insiders own 3.20% of the company's stock.

Salesforce Stock Performance

Shares of Salesforce stock traded up $1.04 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $323.29. 5,467,790 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 6,306,689. The stock has a market capitalization of $309.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 56.09, a PEG ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 1.29. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $288.14 and a 200-day simple moving average of $266.96. 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, Inc. has a 12-month low of $212.00 and a 12-month high of $348.86.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results 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. Salesforce had a net margin of 15.44% and a return on equity of 12.01%. The firm had revenue of $9.33 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $9.22 billion. The company's quarterly revenue was up 8.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.63 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 8th. Investors of record on Wednesday, September 18th were issued a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.49%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, September 18th. Salesforce's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 27.83%.

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.