Cassaday & Co Wealth Management LLC Invests $213,000 in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Cassaday & Co Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund acquired 778 shares of the CRM provider’s stock, valued at approximately $213,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Capital Research Global Investors boosted its position in shares of Salesforce by 26.9% during the first quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 14,376,536 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $4,329,925,000 after buying an additional 3,044,611 shares during the period. Swedbank AB acquired a new position in Salesforce during the 1st quarter worth $874,748,000. Veritas Asset Management LLP bought a new position in shares of Salesforce in the third quarter worth $733,805,000. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 48.3% during 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 purchasing an additional 1,922,674 shares during the period. Finally, AMF Tjanstepension AB raised its stake in shares of Salesforce by 376.1% during the second quarter. AMF Tjanstepension AB now owns 1,442,453 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $370,873,000 after purchasing an additional 1,139,472 shares in the last quarter. 80.43% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Salesforce Price Performance

NYSE CRM opened at $322.25 on Tuesday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $288.14 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $266.96. Salesforce, Inc. has a 12-month low of $212.00 and a 12-month high of $348.86. The stock has a market capitalization of $308.07 billion, a PE ratio of 56.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 1.29. 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 (NYSE:CRM) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, August 28th. The CRM provider reported $2.56 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.36 by $0.20. The firm had revenue of $9.33 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.22 billion. Salesforce had a net margin of 15.44% and a return on equity of 12.01%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 8.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.63 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 8th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, September 18th were paid a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.50%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, September 18th. Salesforce’s payout ratio is 27.83%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

CRM has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating and set a $345.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Friday, September 20th. Evercore ISI reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $300.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a report on Monday, August 26th. Erste Group Bank reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Wednesday, September 11th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Salesforce from $275.00 to $330.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. Finally, DA Davidson lifted their target price on Salesforce from $230.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-seven have assigned a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Salesforce presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $325.36.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, COO Brian Millham sold 60,522 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $300.00, for a total value of $18,156,600.00. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Amy E. Weaver sold 897 shares of the 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 $255,905.13. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 52,930 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,100,399.70. The trade was a 1.67 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 140,173 shares of company stock valued at $40,146,206. 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.