Douglas Lane & Associates LLC Makes New Investment in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Douglas Lane & Associates LLC bought a new stake in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM - Free Report) in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 90,637 shares of the CRM provider's stock, valued at approximately $24,808,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 186.7% during the first quarter. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. now owns 86 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 56 shares during the last quarter. Piscataqua Savings Bank lifted its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 2,400.0% during the 2nd quarter. Piscataqua Savings Bank now owns 100 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 96 shares during the period. Clear Investment Research LLC raised its position in shares of Salesforce by 816.7% in the 2nd quarter. Clear Investment Research LLC now owns 110 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 98 shares during the period. Red Tortoise LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Salesforce during the 1st quarter worth about $33,000. Finally, Stephens Consulting LLC raised its position in Salesforce by 3,125.0% in the second quarter. Stephens Consulting LLC now owns 129 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 125 shares during the period. 80.43% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the company. JMP Securities restated a "market outperform" rating and issued a $342.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a report on Wednesday, August 28th. Sanford C. Bernstein boosted their target price on shares of Salesforce from $234.00 to $236.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. DA Davidson raised their target price on shares of Salesforce from $230.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. Northland Capmk upgraded shares of Salesforce from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on Salesforce from $265.00 to $305.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-six have given a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $310.74.

Insider Activity at Salesforce

In other news, insider Parker Harris sold 4,200 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $254.90, for a total value of $1,070,580.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 116,693 shares in the company, valued at $29,745,045.70. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other Salesforce news, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 413 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $255.78, for a total value of $105,637.14. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 6,431 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,644,921.18. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Parker Harris sold 4,200 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $254.90, for a total value of $1,070,580.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 116,693 shares in the company, valued at $29,745,045.70. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 80,612 shares of company stock worth $21,283,087. 3.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Salesforce Stock Down 0.7 %

Shares of NYSE:CRM traded down $2.07 during trading on Friday, reaching $288.10. 3,597,035 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,491,262. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $261.93 and a two-hundred day moving average of $263.88. Salesforce, Inc. has a 1-year low of $193.68 and a 1-year high of $318.71. The firm has a market cap of $275.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 50.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 1.30. 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 - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 company had revenue of $9.33 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 previous year, the business earned $1.63 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 8th. Investors 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 0.56%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, September 18th. Salesforce's dividend payout ratio is currently 27.83%.

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.