Essex Investment Management Co. LLC Has $6.15 Million Holdings in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Essex Investment Management Co. LLC decreased its position in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 5.4% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 22,452 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after selling 1,278 shares during the period. Salesforce makes up 1.1% of Essex Investment Management Co. LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 21st biggest holding. Essex Investment Management Co. LLC’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $6,145,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of CRM. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of 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 in the last quarter. Piscataqua Savings Bank increased its stake in Salesforce by 2,400.0% in 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 in the last quarter. Red Tortoise LLC acquired a new position in shares of Salesforce during the first quarter valued at about $33,000. Clear Investment Research LLC boosted its position in shares of Salesforce by 816.7% during the 2nd quarter. Clear Investment Research LLC now owns 110 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 98 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL acquired a new stake in shares of Salesforce in the 2nd quarter valued at about $33,000. Institutional investors own 80.43% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Parker Harris sold 4,200 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $254.90, for a total transaction of $1,070,580.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 116,693 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $29,745,045.70. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 413 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $255.78, for a total transaction of $105,637.14. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 6,431 shares in the company, valued at $1,644,921.18. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Parker Harris sold 4,200 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $254.90, for a total value of $1,070,580.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 116,693 shares in the company, valued at $29,745,045.70. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 80,612 shares of company stock worth $21,283,087. 3.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have issued reports on CRM shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Salesforce from $300.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $345.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a report on Friday, September 20th. Loop Capital restated a “hold” rating and set a $270.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $250.00 to $275.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. Finally, Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $295.00 to $315.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-six have assigned a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Salesforce has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $310.74.

Salesforce Trading Down 0.7 %

Shares of CRM opened at $288.10 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $275.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 50.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 1.30. Salesforce, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $193.68 and a fifty-two week 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. The business has a 50-day moving average of $261.93 and a 200 day moving average of $263.88.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, August 28th. The CRM provider reported $2.56 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.36 by $0.20. The firm had revenue of $9.33 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.22 billion. Salesforce had a net margin of 15.44% and a return on equity of 12.01%. The company’s revenue was up 8.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.63 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.55 EPS for the current year.

Salesforce Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 8th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, September 18th were issued a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.56%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, September 18th. Salesforce’s payout ratio is currently 27.83%.

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.