Meridian Wealth Partners LLC Boosts Stake in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Meridian Wealth Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 5.2% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 830 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after buying an additional 41 shares during the period. Meridian Wealth Partners LLC’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $213,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. grew its position in Salesforce by 186.7% in the 1st quarter. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. now owns 86 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 56 shares during the last quarter. Piscataqua Savings Bank boosted its stake in shares of Salesforce by 2,400.0% during the second quarter. Piscataqua Savings Bank now owns 100 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 96 shares during the period. Red Tortoise LLC bought a new position in shares of Salesforce in the first quarter worth about $33,000. Clear Investment Research LLC increased its stake in Salesforce by 816.7% in the 2nd 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. Finally, Stephens Consulting LLC lifted its holdings in Salesforce by 3,125.0% during the 2nd quarter. Stephens Consulting LLC now owns 129 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 125 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.43% of the company’s stock.

Salesforce Price Performance

NYSE:CRM opened at $255.32 on Wednesday. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $253.61 and its two-hundred day moving average is $267.11. The firm has a market cap of $247.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 45.92, a PEG ratio of 2.26 and a beta of 1.29. Salesforce, Inc. has a one year low of $193.68 and a one year high of $318.71. 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) last posted 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 firm had revenue of $9.33 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.22 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.63 earnings per share. Salesforce’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.55 EPS for the current year.

Salesforce Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 8th. Investors of record on Wednesday, September 18th will be paid a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.63%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, September 18th. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio is currently 28.78%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently commented on CRM. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $300.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. Piper Sandler raised their price objective on Salesforce from $250.00 to $268.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Roth Mkm reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $335.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Wedbush restated an “outperform” rating and set a $315.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. Finally, Oppenheimer upped their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $280.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock 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 three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Salesforce currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $305.55.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Salesforce news, CFO Amy E. Weaver sold 897 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $255.78, for a total value of $229,434.66. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 51,109 shares in the company, valued at $13,072,660.02. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, insider Sabastian Niles sold 2,484 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $244.81, for a total transaction of $608,108.04. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 828 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $202,702.68. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Amy E. Weaver sold 897 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $255.78, for a total transaction of $229,434.66. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 51,109 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,072,660.02. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 62,376 shares of company stock valued at $15,878,005. Corporate 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.