WoodTrust Financial Corp Boosts Stock Holdings in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

WoodTrust Financial Corp boosted its position in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 3.4% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 58,198 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,897 shares during the period. Salesforce comprises approximately 2.3% of WoodTrust Financial Corp’s portfolio, making the stock its 14th biggest holding. WoodTrust Financial Corp’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $15,930,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of CRM. SPC Financial Inc. lifted its stake in Salesforce by 4.5% in the first quarter. SPC Financial Inc. now owns 1,468 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $442,000 after purchasing an additional 63 shares during the last quarter. Manchester Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Salesforce by 13.6% during the 1st quarter. Manchester Capital Management LLC now owns 888 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $267,000 after acquiring an additional 106 shares during the period. Concord Investment Counsel Inc. bought a new stake in Salesforce during the 1st quarter valued at $3,894,000. Duality Advisers LP bought a new stake in Salesforce during the 1st quarter valued at $1,280,000. Finally, Empirical Finance LLC raised its holdings in Salesforce by 3.4% during the 1st quarter. Empirical Finance LLC now owns 34,632 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $10,430,000 after acquiring an additional 1,150 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.43% of the company’s stock.

Salesforce Trading Up 3.2 %

NYSE:CRM opened at $306.90 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $293.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 53.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.67 and a beta of 1.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a current ratio of 1.04 and a quick ratio of 1.04. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $275.30 and a 200-day moving average price of $263.86. Salesforce, Inc. has a one year low of $208.84 and a one year high of $318.71.

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

Salesforce Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced 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 was Wednesday, September 18th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.52%. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 27.83%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CRM has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Erste Group Bank reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Salesforce in a report on Wednesday, September 11th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Salesforce from $320.00 to $330.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Canaccord Genuity Group boosted their target price on shares of Salesforce from $300.00 to $315.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 29th. DA Davidson boosted their target price on shares of Salesforce from $230.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Finally, Raymond James upped their price target on shares of Salesforce from $325.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-six have issued a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Salesforce has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $313.37.

Insider Activity at Salesforce

In other Salesforce news, COO Brian Millham sold 60,522 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $300.00, for a total transaction of $18,156,600.00. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other Salesforce news, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 413 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $285.29, for a total transaction of $117,824.77. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 7,006 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,998,741.74. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, COO Brian Millham sold 60,522 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $300.00, for a total value of $18,156,600.00. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 149,973 shares of company stock worth $42,672,142. 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.