Pine Haven Investment Counsel Inc Buys 419 Shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Pine Haven Investment Counsel Inc grew its stake in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 17.8% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,775 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 419 shares during the quarter. Pine Haven Investment Counsel Inc’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $760,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Salesforce by 186.7% during the first quarter. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. now owns 86 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 56 shares during the period. Piscataqua Savings Bank lifted its holdings in Salesforce by 2,400.0% during the second quarter. Piscataqua Savings Bank now owns 100 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 96 shares during the period. Clear Investment Research LLC lifted its holdings in Salesforce by 816.7% during the second quarter. Clear Investment Research LLC now owns 110 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 98 shares during the period. Red Tortoise LLC bought a new stake in Salesforce during the first quarter worth $33,000. Finally, Stephens Consulting LLC lifted its holdings in Salesforce by 3,125.0% during the second quarter. Stephens Consulting LLC now owns 129 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 125 shares during the period. 80.43% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have issued reports on CRM. Citigroup raised their target price on Salesforce from $260.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, August 26th. Northland Capmk upgraded Salesforce from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Wedbush lifted their price target on Salesforce from $315.00 to $325.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, September 27th. Raymond James lifted their price target on Salesforce from $325.00 to $350.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. Finally, Northland Securities upgraded Salesforce from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $270.00 to $400.00 in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-seven have issued a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $310.74.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Salesforce news, insider Parker Harris sold 4,200 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $288.42, for a total transaction of $1,211,364.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 118,514 shares in the company, valued at approximately $34,181,807.88. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, Director Maynard G. Webb, Jr. sold 9,170 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $276.32, for a total value of $2,533,854.40. Following the sale, the director now owns 1,363 shares in the company, valued at $376,624.16. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Parker Harris sold 4,200 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $288.42, for a total value of $1,211,364.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 118,514 shares in the company, valued at $34,181,807.88. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 80,612 shares of company stock worth $21,283,087. Company insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

Salesforce Trading Down 1.3 %

NYSE:CRM traded down $3.71 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $286.46. 1,216,949 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 6,479,185. Salesforce, Inc. has a 12-month low of $193.68 and a 12-month high of $318.71. The firm has a market capitalization of $273.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 50.14, a PEG ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 1.30. 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 company has a 50 day moving average price of $261.04 and a 200-day moving average price of $264.29.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 28th. The CRM provider reported $2.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.22 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.63 EPS. Salesforce’s revenue was up 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Salesforce Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 8th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, September 18th were issued 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 dividend yield of 0.56%. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 27.83%.

Salesforce Company 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.