Ipswich Investment Management Co. Inc. Trims Stock Position in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Ipswich Investment Management Co. Inc. trimmed its holdings in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 1.4% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 3,590 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after selling 50 shares during the period. Ipswich Investment Management Co. Inc.’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $983,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Nicollet Investment Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Salesforce by 1.3% during the 3rd quarter. Nicollet Investment Management Inc. now owns 15,243 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $4,172,000 after purchasing an additional 201 shares during the last quarter. Coastline Trust Co raised its stake in shares of Salesforce by 2.2% in the 3rd quarter. Coastline Trust Co now owns 6,406 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $1,753,000 after acquiring an additional 138 shares during the period. Empirical Finance LLC boosted its holdings in Salesforce by 2.3% in the third quarter. Empirical Finance LLC now owns 33,203 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $9,088,000 after purchasing an additional 757 shares during the period. Sheaff Brock Investment Advisors LLC raised its position in Salesforce by 2.4% in the 3rd quarter. Sheaff Brock Investment Advisors LLC now owns 26,183 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $7,166,000 after purchasing an additional 615 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Signature Estate & Investment Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Salesforce by 16.4% in the 3rd quarter. Signature Estate & Investment Advisors LLC now owns 220,843 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $60,447,000 after buying an additional 31,099 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.43% of the company’s stock.

Salesforce Stock Down 1.9 %

CRM stock opened at $325.28 on Friday. 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 simple moving average is $286.61 and its 200-day simple moving average is $266.64. Salesforce, Inc. has a 12 month low of $212.00 and a 12 month high of $348.86. The firm has a market capitalization of $310.96 billion, a PE ratio of 56.57, a P/E/G ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 1.29.

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

Salesforce Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 8th. Shareholders 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.49%. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 27.83%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Citigroup raised their target price on shares of Salesforce from $260.00 to $290.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, August 26th. Raymond James raised their price target on Salesforce from $325.00 to $350.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Salesforce from $275.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday. Piper Sandler cut shares of Salesforce from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Salesforce from $250.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” 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 assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $322.51.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 413 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $285.29, for a total transaction of $117,824.77. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 7,006 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,998,741.74. This trade represents a 5.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Amy E. Weaver sold 897 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 52,930 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $15,100,399.70. This trade represents a 1.67 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 144,373 shares of company stock valued at $41,250,680 in the last ninety days. 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.