Calton & Associates Inc. Invests $204,000 in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Calton & Associates Inc. acquired a new position in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) during the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm acquired 747 shares of the CRM provider’s stock, valued at approximately $204,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Salesforce by 186.7% during the first quarter. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. now owns 86 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 56 shares during the period. Piscataqua Savings Bank raised its position in shares of Salesforce by 2,400.0% during the second quarter. Piscataqua Savings Bank now owns 100 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 96 shares during the period. Red Tortoise LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Salesforce during the first quarter worth $33,000. Clear Investment Research LLC raised its position in shares of Salesforce by 816.7% during the second quarter. Clear Investment Research LLC now owns 110 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 98 shares during the period. Finally, Godsey & Gibb Inc. raised its position in shares of Salesforce by 300.0% during the third quarter. Godsey & Gibb Inc. now owns 120 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 90 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 80.43% of the company’s stock.

Salesforce Stock Performance

CRM opened at $288.24 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $279.30 billion, a PE ratio of 51.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 1.30. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $268.12 and a 200-day moving average of $263.09. Salesforce, Inc. has a 52-week low of $193.68 and a 52-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.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, August 28th. The CRM provider reported $2.56 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 the consensus estimate of $9.22 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.63 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Announces Dividend

The firm 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, September 18th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.56%. Salesforce’s payout ratio is 28.78%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CRM has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $345.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Friday, September 20th. FBN Securities raised Salesforce to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. DA Davidson boosted their target price on Salesforce from $230.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. Piper Sandler lowered Salesforce from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, Robert W. Baird upped their price target on Salesforce from $295.00 to $315.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Salesforce has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $311.66.

Insider Activity at Salesforce

In related news, insider Parker Harris sold 4,200 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $257.28, for a total transaction of $1,080,576.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 117,581 shares in the company, valued at $30,251,239.68. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other Salesforce news, insider Parker Harris sold 4,200 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $257.28, for a total value of $1,080,576.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 117,581 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $30,251,239.68. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, COO Brian Millham sold 4,056 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $261.50, for a total value of $1,060,644.00. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 85,502 shares of company stock worth $23,045,186 in the last 90 days. 3.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.