Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) Shares Acquired by Prospera Financial Services Inc

Prospera Financial Services Inc grew its stake in shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM - Free Report) by 8.0% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 54,791 shares of the CRM provider's stock after buying an additional 4,047 shares during the quarter. Prospera Financial Services Inc's holdings in Salesforce were worth $14,998,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Piscataqua Savings Bank grew its stake in shares of Salesforce by 2,400.0% in the second quarter. Piscataqua Savings Bank now owns 100 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 96 shares during the last quarter. Clear Investment Research LLC lifted its holdings in Salesforce by 816.7% in the second 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. Godsey & Gibb Inc. lifted its holdings in Salesforce by 300.0% in the third quarter. Godsey & Gibb Inc. now owns 120 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 90 shares during the period. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL purchased a new stake in Salesforce in the second quarter worth about $33,000. Finally, Stephens Consulting LLC lifted its holdings in Salesforce by 3,125.0% in the second quarter. Stephens Consulting LLC now owns 129 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 125 shares during the period. 80.43% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Salesforce

In other news, COO Brian Millham sold 60,522 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $300.00, for a total value of $18,156,600.00. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Maynard G. Webb, Jr. sold 9,170 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $276.32, for a total transaction of $2,533,854.40. Following the sale, the director now owns 1,363 shares in the company, valued at approximately $376,624.16. This represents a 87.06 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 140,173 shares of company stock worth $40,146,206 over the last 90 days. 3.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Roth Mkm reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $335.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their target price on shares of Salesforce from $234.00 to $236.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Salesforce from $275.00 to $330.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on shares of Salesforce from $305.00 to $385.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday. Finally, BNP Paribas raised shares of Salesforce to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-eight have assigned a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $325.36.

Salesforce Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE CRM traded up $0.82 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $323.07. The company had a trading volume of 2,168,653 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,291,962. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $288.14 and its 200 day simple moving average is $266.96. The stock has a market cap of $308.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 56.09, a P/E/G ratio of 2.94 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 company has a current ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 28th. The CRM provider reported $2.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.36 by $0.20. The business had revenue of $9.33 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $9.22 billion. Salesforce had a net margin of 15.44% and a return on equity of 12.01%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 8.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.63 earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 8th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, September 18th were paid a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, September 18th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.50%. Salesforce's payout ratio is currently 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.