Thrivent Financial for Lutherans Raises Holdings in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans increased its stake in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM - Free Report) by 1.7% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 832,881 shares of the CRM provider's stock after purchasing an additional 13,793 shares during the period. Salesforce makes up 0.4% of Thrivent Financial for Lutherans' holdings, making the stock its 29th biggest holding. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans owned 0.09% of Salesforce worth $227,967,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Capital Research Global Investors grew its position in Salesforce by 26.9% in the first quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 14,376,536 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $4,329,925,000 after acquiring an additional 3,044,611 shares during the last quarter. Capital International Investors grew its position in Salesforce by 3.0% in the first quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 14,116,449 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $4,251,592,000 after acquiring an additional 407,834 shares during the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc grew its position in Salesforce by 2.2% in the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 8,329,687 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $2,141,562,000 after acquiring an additional 176,641 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its position in Salesforce by 48.3% in the second quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 5,906,877 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $1,518,658,000 after acquiring an additional 1,922,674 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its position in Salesforce by 25.1% in the second quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 4,378,826 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $1,125,331,000 after acquiring an additional 877,495 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.43% of the company's stock.

Salesforce Stock Down 1.9 %

Shares of NYSE CRM traded down $6.39 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $325.26. 7,093,003 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,164,433. The company has a market cap of $310.95 billion, a PE ratio of 56.57, a P/E/G ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 1.29. Salesforce, Inc. has a one year low of $212.00 and a one year high of $348.86. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $286.61 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $266.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a current ratio of 1.04.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 28th. The CRM provider reported $2.56 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.36 by $0.20. The firm had revenue of $9.33 billion during 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 company's quarterly revenue was up 8.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.63 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.55 EPS for the current year.

Salesforce Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Amy E. Weaver sold 897 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $285.29, for a total transaction of $255,905.13. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 52,930 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,100,399.70. This represents a 1.67 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Parker Harris sold 4,200 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $262.97, for a total value of $1,104,474.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 117,581 shares of the company's stock, valued at $30,920,275.57. This trade represents a 3.45 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 144,373 shares of company stock worth $41,250,680. 3.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the company. Northland Capmk upgraded Salesforce from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Citigroup lifted their price target on Salesforce from $260.00 to $290.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, August 26th. Truist Financial reissued a "buy" rating and set a $315.00 price target (up from $300.00) on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. JMP Securities reissued a "market outperform" rating and set a $342.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Wednesday, August 28th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Salesforce from $275.00 to $330.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-six have assigned a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $322.51.

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.