Thrivent Financial for Lutherans Purchases 13,793 Shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans lifted its position in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 1.7% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 832,881 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 13,793 shares during the period. Salesforce accounts for about 0.4% of Thrivent Financial for Lutherans’ investment portfolio, making the stock its 29th largest holding. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans owned about 0.09% of Salesforce worth $227,967,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in CRM. Piscataqua Savings Bank boosted its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 2,400.0% during the 2nd quarter. Piscataqua Savings Bank now owns 100 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 96 shares in the last quarter. Clear Investment Research LLC lifted its position in Salesforce by 816.7% during the 2nd quarter. Clear Investment Research LLC now owns 110 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 98 shares during the period. Stephens Consulting LLC boosted its stake 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 in the last quarter. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL purchased a new stake in Salesforce in the second quarter worth about $33,000. Finally, Godsey & Gibb Inc. increased its stake in shares of Salesforce by 300.0% during the third quarter. Godsey & Gibb Inc. now owns 120 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 90 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.43% of the company’s stock.

Salesforce Stock Performance

Shares of CRM opened at $325.26 on Friday. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $286.61 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $266.62. The company has a quick ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. Salesforce, Inc. has a 52 week low of $212.00 and a 52 week high of $348.86. The stock has a market cap of $310.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 56.57, a PEG ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 1.29.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, August 28th. The CRM provider reported $2.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.36 by $0.20. Salesforce had a net margin of 15.44% and a return on equity of 12.01%. The company had revenue of $9.33 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.22 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.63 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts expect that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.55 EPS for the current year.

Salesforce Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 8th. Investors of record on Wednesday, September 18th were paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.49%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, September 18th. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 27.83%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently weighed in on the company. Citigroup upped their price target on Salesforce from $260.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, August 26th. Robert W. Baird raised their price target on Salesforce from $295.00 to $315.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Cfra set a $343.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Northland Capmk raised shares of Salesforce from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $345.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Friday, September 20th. Nine research 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $322.51.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Salesforce news, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 413 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $285.29, for a total value of $117,824.77. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 7,006 shares in the company, valued at $1,998,741.74. This represents a 5.57 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 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 transaction of $608,108.04. Following the sale, the insider now owns 828 shares in the company, valued at approximately $202,702.68. The trade was a 75.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 144,373 shares of company stock valued at $41,250,680. Company 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.