Calton & Associates Inc. Makes New $204,000 Investment in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Calton & Associates Inc. purchased a new position in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 747 shares of the CRM provider’s stock, valued at approximately $204,000.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. boosted its stake in Salesforce by 186.7% in the 1st 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 stake in shares of Salesforce by 2,400.0% in the 2nd quarter. Piscataqua Savings Bank now owns 100 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 96 shares in the last quarter. Clear Investment Research LLC lifted its stake 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 valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 98 shares in the last quarter. Red Tortoise LLC acquired a new position in shares of Salesforce in the 1st quarter valued at about $33,000. Finally, Stephens Consulting LLC lifted its stake in shares of Salesforce by 3,125.0% in the 2nd quarter. Stephens Consulting LLC now owns 129 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 125 shares in the last quarter. 80.43% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Salesforce

In related news, insider Parker Harris sold 2,800 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $241.22, for a total transaction of $675,416.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 117,581 shares in the company, valued at $28,362,888.82. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other Salesforce news, insider Parker Harris sold 2,800 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $241.22, for a total transaction of $675,416.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 117,581 shares in the company, valued at approximately $28,362,888.82. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, COO Brian Millham sold 6,161 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $289.75, for a total value of $1,785,149.75. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 85,502 shares of company stock worth $23,045,186 in the last 90 days. 3.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Salesforce Price Performance

Shares of CRM opened at $288.24 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $279.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 51.84, a PEG ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 1.30. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $268.12 and a 200-day moving average of $263.09. 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 52 week low of $193.68 and a 52 week high of $318.71.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, August 28th. The CRM provider reported $2.56 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 analyst estimates of $9.22 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.63 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 8.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts forecast that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.55 EPS for the current year.

Salesforce Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, September 18th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.56%. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio is currently 28.78%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently weighed in on CRM. TD Cowen lifted their price objective on Salesforce from $285.00 to $290.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on Salesforce from $295.00 to $315.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $345.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Friday, September 20th. Phillip Securities reaffirmed an “accumulate” rating and issued a $305.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Friday, August 30th. Finally, JMP Securities reiterated a “market outperform” rating and set a $342.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a report on Wednesday, August 28th. Nine investment 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 MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $311.66.

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.