Plato Investment Management Ltd Purchases 684 Shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Plato Investment Management Ltd grew its position in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 2.3% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 29,864 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 684 shares during the quarter. Salesforce accounts for about 0.7% of Plato Investment Management Ltd’s holdings, making the stock its 24th largest position. Plato Investment Management Ltd’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $8,166,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Piscataqua Savings Bank increased its stake in Salesforce by 2,400.0% in 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 during the period. Clear Investment Research LLC grew its stake in shares of Salesforce by 816.7% in the 2nd quarter. Clear Investment Research LLC now owns 110 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 98 shares during the period. Godsey & Gibb Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 300.0% in the 3rd quarter. Godsey & Gibb Inc. now owns 120 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 90 shares in the last quarter. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL bought a new position in shares of Salesforce during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $33,000. Finally, Stephens Consulting LLC lifted its position in shares of Salesforce by 3,125.0% during the 2nd quarter. Stephens Consulting LLC now owns 129 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 125 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.43% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Salesforce

In related news, insider Miguel Milano sold 2,934 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $262.95, for a total transaction of $771,495.30. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 3,716 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $977,122.20. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Salesforce news, insider Parker Harris sold 4,200 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $262.97, for a total value of $1,104,474.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 117,581 shares in the company, valued at $30,920,275.57. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Miguel Milano sold 2,934 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $262.95, for a total value of $771,495.30. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 3,716 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $977,122.20. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 144,373 shares of company stock worth $41,250,680 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

Salesforce Stock Up 0.2 %

Salesforce stock opened at $341.72 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a current ratio of 1.04 and a quick ratio of 1.04. The company’s 50-day moving average is $281.40 and its 200-day moving average is $265.31. The firm has a market capitalization of $326.68 billion, a PE ratio of 59.43, a P/E/G ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 1.29. Salesforce, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $212.00 and a fifty-two week high of $348.86.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 28th. The CRM provider reported $2.56 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.22 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.63 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Salesforce Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 8th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, September 18th were given a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, September 18th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.47%. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 27.83%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have issued reports on the company. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $300.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. Wedbush increased their target price on shares of Salesforce from $315.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, September 27th. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Salesforce from $250.00 to $275.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $275.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Phillip Securities reiterated an “accumulate” rating and issued a $305.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Friday, August 30th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-six have issued a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $318.23.

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.