Essex Savings Bank Purchases 225 Shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Essex Savings Bank boosted its position in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 5.2% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 4,551 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 225 shares during the quarter. Essex Savings Bank’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $1,246,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of CRM. Capital Research Global Investors lifted 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 acquiring an additional 3,044,611 shares during the period. GQG Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Salesforce during the 1st quarter valued at $910,220,000. Swedbank AB bought a new stake in shares of Salesforce during the 1st quarter valued at $874,748,000. Veritas Asset Management LLP bought a new stake in shares of Salesforce during the 3rd quarter valued at $733,805,000. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted 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 acquiring an additional 1,922,674 shares during the period. 80.43% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on CRM. Truist Financial reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $315.00 target price (up from $300.00) on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. Roth Mkm reissued a “buy” rating and set a $335.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Bank of America reissued a “buy” rating and set a $325.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a report on Friday, September 6th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on Salesforce from $265.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Finally, Cfra set a $343.00 price target on Salesforce in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Nine investment 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 company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Salesforce currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $313.37.

Insider Activity at Salesforce

In related news, insider Sabastian Niles sold 2,484 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 11th. The stock was 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $202,702.68. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In related news, CFO Amy E. Weaver sold 897 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $285.29, for a total transaction of $255,905.13. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 52,930 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $15,100,399.70. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Sabastian Niles sold 2,484 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $244.81, for a total value of $608,108.04. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 828 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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 a total of 148,573 shares of company stock valued at $42,319,874 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

Salesforce Trading Up 3.6 %

Shares of Salesforce stock opened at $321.95 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a current ratio of 1.04. Salesforce, Inc. has a 52 week low of $208.84 and a 52 week high of $322.81. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $277.76 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $264.52. The stock has a market capitalization of $307.78 billion, a PE ratio of 55.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 1.29.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 28th. The CRM provider reported $2.56 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 firm had revenue of $9.33 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.22 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.63 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Announces Dividend

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 of this dividend was Wednesday, September 18th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.50%. Salesforce’s payout ratio is 27.83%.

Salesforce 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.