Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) Stock Position Lifted by Eastern Bank

Eastern Bank increased its stake in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 24.3% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 67,468 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 13,181 shares during the period. Eastern Bank’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $18,467,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in Salesforce by 1.2% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 84,635,254 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $25,490,446,000 after acquiring an additional 1,008,841 shares during the period. Capital Research Global Investors increased its position in shares of Salesforce by 26.9% during the 1st quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 14,376,536 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $4,329,925,000 after purchasing an additional 3,044,611 shares during the period. Capital International Investors increased its position in shares of Salesforce by 3.0% during the 1st quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 14,116,449 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $4,251,592,000 after purchasing an additional 407,834 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc increased its position in shares of Salesforce by 2.2% during the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 8,329,687 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $2,141,562,000 after purchasing an additional 176,641 shares during the period. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its position in shares of Salesforce by 48.3% during the 2nd 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 purchasing an additional 1,922,674 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 80.43% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Salesforce

In other news, COO Brian Millham sold 969 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $253.63, for a total transaction of $245,767.47. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, COO Brian Millham sold 969 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $253.63, for a total transaction of $245,767.47. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Parker Harris sold 4,200 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $257.28, for a total value of $1,080,576.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 117,581 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $30,251,239.68. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 76,110 shares of company stock valued at $20,292,760 in the last three months. 3.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CRM has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Northland Capmk upgraded Salesforce from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Raymond James lifted their target price on Salesforce from $325.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $300.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a report on Thursday, September 19th. Northland Securities raised Salesforce from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $270.00 to $400.00 in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Finally, Roth Mkm reissued a “buy” rating and set a $335.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. Nine 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’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $311.66.

Salesforce Trading Down 1.0 %

Shares of CRM traded down $2.84 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $288.45. 1,648,461 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 6,372,784. Salesforce, Inc. has a 12 month low of $193.68 and a 12 month high of $318.71. The company has a market capitalization of $279.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 52.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 1.30. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $267.44 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $263.18. 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 (NYSE:CRM) last released 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. The firm had revenue of $9.33 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.22 billion. Salesforce had a net margin of 15.44% and a return on equity of 12.01%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 8.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.63 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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 $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.55%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, September 18th. Salesforce’s payout ratio is currently 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.