Marietta Wealth Management LLC Increases Stock Position in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Marietta Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 4.6% during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 24,271 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,076 shares during the period. Marietta Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $6,643,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Hoxton Planning & Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Salesforce in the first quarter valued at $220,000. Sound Income Strategies LLC increased its stake in Salesforce by 44.5% during the first quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 815 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $245,000 after purchasing an additional 251 shares during the period. Brookstone Capital Management lifted its position in shares of Salesforce by 1.6% during the first quarter. Brookstone Capital Management now owns 39,088 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $11,773,000 after purchasing an additional 622 shares in the last quarter. Sovereign Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Salesforce by 5.2% in the first quarter. Sovereign Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,147 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $345,000 after purchasing an additional 57 shares during the period. Finally, GoalVest Advisory LLC grew its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 200.6% in the first quarter. GoalVest Advisory LLC now owns 932 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $281,000 after purchasing an additional 622 shares in the last quarter. 80.43% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Parker Harris sold 2,800 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $241.22, for a total value of $675,416.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 117,581 shares in the company, valued at approximately $28,362,888.82. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, insider Parker Harris sold 2,800 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $241.22, for a total value of $675,416.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 117,581 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $28,362,888.82. This 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 at this hyperlink. Also, insider Sabastian Niles sold 2,484 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $244.81, for a total transaction of $608,108.04. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 828 shares in the company, valued at $202,702.68. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 85,502 shares of company stock valued at $23,045,186 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

Salesforce Price Performance

CRM opened at $288.24 on Wednesday. Salesforce, Inc. has a 1 year low of $193.68 and a 1 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. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $268.12 and its 200 day simple moving average is $263.09. The stock has a market capitalization of $279.30 billion, a PE ratio of 51.84, a P/E/G ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 1.30.

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

Salesforce Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 8th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, September 18th were issued a $0.40 dividend. 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 28.78%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CRM has been the subject of several analyst reports. Raymond James boosted their target price on Salesforce from $325.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market outperform” rating and issued a $342.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a report on Wednesday, August 28th. Northland Securities upgraded shares of Salesforce from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $270.00 to $400.00 in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. TD Cowen increased their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $285.00 to $290.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $234.00 to $236.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-six have given a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $311.66.

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.