EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC Increases Stake in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 6,356 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 41 shares during the period. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $1,740,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Legal & General Group Plc raised its holdings in Salesforce by 2.2% in the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 8,329,687 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $2,141,562,000 after buying an additional 176,641 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its holdings in Salesforce by 48.3% in the second 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 buying an additional 1,922,674 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its holdings in Salesforce by 25.1% in the second quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 4,378,826 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $1,125,331,000 after buying an additional 877,495 shares during the period. ValueAct Holdings L.P. raised its holdings in Salesforce by 12.3% in the second quarter. ValueAct Holdings L.P. now owns 3,914,309 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $1,006,369,000 after buying an additional 428,000 shares during the period. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in Salesforce by 22.7% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,492,583 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $897,935,000 after buying an additional 646,127 shares during the period. 80.43% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Sabastian Niles sold 2,484 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction dated 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 in the company, valued at $202,702.68. The trade was a 75.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Parker Harris sold 3,970 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $296.74, for a total value of $1,178,057.80. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 119,402 shares in the company, valued at $35,431,349.48. This trade represents a 3.22 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 136,117 shares of company stock worth $39,085,562. Insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Northland Securities upgraded shares of Salesforce from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $270.00 to $400.00 in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $310.00 to $340.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Bank of America raised their price target on shares of Salesforce from $325.00 to $390.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Salesforce from $250.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. Finally, DA Davidson lifted their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $230.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-eight have given a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $326.19.

Salesforce Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:CRM opened at $325.70 on Thursday. Salesforce, Inc. has a twelve month low of $212.00 and a twelve month high of $348.86. The firm has a market cap of $311.37 billion, a PE ratio of 56.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 1.29. 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 fifty day moving average of $291.21 and a 200-day moving average of $267.72.

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

Salesforce Announces Dividend

The business 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. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.49%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, September 18th. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.