Swiss National Bank Acquires 4,200 Shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Swiss National Bank raised its holdings in shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 0.1% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,876,177 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,200 shares during the quarter. Salesforce accounts for about 0.5% of Swiss National Bank’s portfolio, making the stock its 26th largest position. Swiss National Bank owned about 0.30% of Salesforce worth $787,238,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Piscataqua Savings Bank raised 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 valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 96 shares during the period. Clear Investment Research LLC raised its stake in shares of Salesforce by 816.7% in the second quarter. Clear Investment Research LLC now owns 110 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 98 shares during the period. Stephens Consulting LLC raised its stake in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 125 shares during the period. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL purchased a new stake in shares of Salesforce in the second quarter valued at $33,000. Finally, Godsey & Gibb Inc. raised its stake in shares of Salesforce by 300.0% in the third quarter. Godsey & Gibb Inc. now owns 120 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 90 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 80.43% of the company’s stock.

Salesforce Stock Down 1.9 %

CRM stock opened at $325.26 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $286.61 and a 200 day moving average of $266.62. The stock has a market capitalization of $310.95 billion, a PE ratio of 56.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 1.29. The company has a quick ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. Salesforce, Inc. has a 52 week low of $212.00 and a 52 week high of $348.86.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last announced 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. Salesforce had a net margin of 15.44% and a return on equity of 12.01%. The business had revenue of $9.33 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.22 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.63 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Salesforce Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 8th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, September 18th were paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. 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 payout ratio is 27.83%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CRM has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. DA Davidson increased 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. Sanford C. Bernstein raised their price target on shares of Salesforce from $234.00 to $236.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. Truist Financial reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $315.00 price target (up previously from $300.00) on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Salesforce from $250.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Salesforce from $300.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-six have assigned a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $322.51.

Insider Buying and Selling at Salesforce

In other news, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 413 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction that occurred 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 directly owns 7,006 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,998,741.74. The trade was a 5.57 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Sabastian Niles sold 2,484 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $244.81, for a total transaction of $608,108.04. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 828 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $202,702.68. This trade represents a 75.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 144,373 shares of company stock worth $41,250,680. Company insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

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.