Middleton & Co. Inc. MA Increases Position in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Middleton & Co. Inc. MA lifted its position in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 1.6% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 60,980 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 959 shares during the period. Salesforce comprises 1.8% of Middleton & Co. Inc. MA’s portfolio, making the stock its 17th largest holding. Middleton & Co. Inc. MA’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $16,691,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of CRM. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Salesforce by 186.7% in 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 in the last quarter. Piscataqua Savings Bank grew its stake in Salesforce by 2,400.0% during the second quarter. Piscataqua Savings Bank now owns 100 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 96 shares in the last quarter. Clear Investment Research LLC grew its stake in Salesforce by 816.7% during the second 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 in the last quarter. Red Tortoise LLC purchased a new position in Salesforce during the first quarter valued at $33,000. Finally, Stephens Consulting LLC grew 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 valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 125 shares in the last quarter. 80.43% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently weighed in on CRM. Bank of America reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $325.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Friday, September 6th. Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $295.00 to $315.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. TD Cowen lifted their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $285.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. Canaccord Genuity Group lifted their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $300.00 to $315.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $265.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-six have issued a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Salesforce has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $312.51.

Insider Activity

In other news, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 413 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $285.29, for a total value of $117,824.77. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 7,006 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,998,741.74. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other news, insider Parker Harris sold 4,200 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $257.28, for a total value of $1,080,576.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 117,581 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $30,251,239.68. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 413 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 $117,824.77. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 7,006 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,998,741.74. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 87,781 shares of company stock worth $23,696,593. 3.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Salesforce Trading Up 1.3 %

NYSE:CRM opened at $290.46 on Friday. Salesforce, Inc. has a one year low of $193.68 and a one 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 firm has a market cap of $281.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 52.24, a P/E/G ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 1.30. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $269.73 and a 200-day simple moving average of $263.32.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 28th. The CRM provider reported $2.56 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 business had revenue of $9.33 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.22 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.63 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.55%. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio is currently 28.78%.

Salesforce Company 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.