Azzad Asset Management Inc. ADV Boosts Stake in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Azzad Asset Management Inc. ADV raised its position in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 0.7% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 16,124 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 110 shares during the quarter. Azzad Asset Management Inc. ADV’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $4,146,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. boosted 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 valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 56 shares during the period. Signature Resources Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Salesforce during the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Piscataqua Savings Bank boosted its position in Salesforce by 2,400.0% in 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 during the period. Red Tortoise LLC acquired a new position in shares of Salesforce in the first quarter worth $33,000. Finally, Stephens Consulting LLC increased its position in shares of 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 during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.43% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CRM has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on Salesforce from $300.00 to $320.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday. Barclays decreased their price objective on Salesforce from $355.00 to $305.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. Wedbush restated an “outperform” rating and set a $315.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Thursday. Mizuho reduced their target price on shares of Salesforce from $345.00 to $300.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 30th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their price target on shares of Salesforce from $350.00 to $300.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 30th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-seven have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $302.00.

Insider Buying and Selling at Salesforce

In other news, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 413 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $255.78, for a total value of $105,637.14. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 6,431 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,644,921.18. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other Salesforce news, Director G Mason Morfit acquired 428,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 3rd. The stock was purchased at an average price of $233.17 per share, for a total transaction of $99,796,760.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 3,914,309 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $912,699,429.53. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 413 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $255.78, for a total transaction of $105,637.14. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 6,431 shares in the company, valued at $1,644,921.18. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 112,964 shares of company stock valued at $27,956,647. 3.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Salesforce Stock Performance

NYSE CRM traded down $4.11 during trading on Friday, reaching $252.90. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 10,391,372 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,635,113. Salesforce, Inc. has a twelve month low of $193.68 and a twelve month high of $318.71. The firm has a market cap of $245.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 45.49, a P/E/G ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 1.29. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $254.28 and its 200-day moving average price is $271.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a current ratio of 1.11.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 28th. The CRM provider reported $2.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.36 by $0.20. Salesforce had a return on equity of 11.57% and a net margin of 15.30%. The firm had revenue of $9.33 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.22 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.63 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts anticipate that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 25th. Investors of record on Tuesday, July 9th were given a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, July 9th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.63%. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 28.78%.

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.