Carret Asset Management LLC Buys 332 Shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Carret Asset Management LLC raised its stake in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 12.4% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,011 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 332 shares during the quarter. Carret Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $824,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of CRM. Valley National Advisers Inc. raised its position in Salesforce by 275.7% in the 3rd quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 9,204 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $2,518,000 after purchasing an additional 6,754 shares during the last quarter. Mcrae Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Salesforce by 6.7% in the 3rd quarter. Mcrae Capital Management Inc. now owns 42,304 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $11,579,000 after buying an additional 2,652 shares during the period. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Salesforce by 5.7% in the 3rd quarter. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC now owns 16,803 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $4,599,000 after buying an additional 909 shares during the period. Clear Harbor Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of Salesforce by 4.4% during the third quarter. Clear Harbor Asset Management LLC now owns 7,331 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $2,007,000 after acquiring an additional 310 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Smith Salley Wealth Management lifted its stake in shares of Salesforce by 8.5% during the third quarter. Smith Salley Wealth Management now owns 5,024 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $1,375,000 after acquiring an additional 395 shares during the period. 80.43% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 413 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $285.29, for a total transaction of $117,824.77. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 7,006 shares in the company, valued at $1,998,741.74. The trade was 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. In other Salesforce news, insider Parker Harris sold 4,200 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $257.28, for a total transaction of $1,080,576.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 117,581 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $30,251,239.68. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 413 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $285.29, for a total transaction of $117,824.77. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 7,006 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,998,741.74. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 87,781 shares of company stock valued at $23,696,593. 3.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CRM has been the subject of a number of research reports. TD Cowen lifted their price objective on Salesforce from $285.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. Erste Group Bank reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Wednesday, September 11th. Phillip Securities restated an “accumulate” rating and issued a $305.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a report on Friday, August 30th. Bank of America reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $325.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a report on Friday, September 6th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein increased their price target on Salesforce from $234.00 to $236.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-six have issued a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Salesforce presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $312.51.

Salesforce Stock Up 1.3 %

Salesforce stock opened at $290.46 on Monday. 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, Inc. has a 1-year low of $193.68 and a 1-year high of $318.71. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $269.73 and a 200 day simple moving average of $262.79. The company has a market cap of $281.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 52.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 1.30.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 28th. The CRM provider reported $2.56 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.36 by $0.20. Salesforce had a return on equity of 12.01% and a net margin of 15.44%. The company had revenue of $9.33 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.22 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.63 EPS. Salesforce’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 8th. Investors 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.55%. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio is presently 28.78%.

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.