First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. Boosts Stake in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. boosted its position in shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 20.2% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 26,944 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 4,526 shares during the quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P.’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $7,375,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. boosted its stake in Salesforce by 186.7% in the 1st quarter. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. now owns 86 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 56 shares during the period. 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 increased its holdings in 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 acquiring an additional 98 shares during the last quarter. Stephens Consulting LLC lifted its stake in Salesforce by 3,125.0% in the 2nd quarter. Stephens Consulting LLC now owns 129 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 125 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL bought a new position in shares of Salesforce during the 2nd quarter valued at about $33,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.43% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Amy E. Weaver sold 897 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 23rd. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at $15,100,399.70. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, COO Brian Millham sold 969 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $286.56, for a total value of $277,676.64. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Amy E. Weaver sold 897 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 23rd. The stock was 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. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 83,581 shares of company stock valued at $22,616,017. Corporate insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

Salesforce Stock Performance

CRM traded down $0.51 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $298.38. 886,055 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,287,253. The firm has a market capitalization of $285.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 52.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 1.30. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $271.04 and its 200 day simple moving average is $262.78. The company has a current ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. Salesforce, Inc. has a 1-year low of $198.66 and a 1-year high of $318.71.

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. 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 analyst estimates of $9.22 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.63 earnings per share. Salesforce’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Salesforce Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 8th. Investors of record on Wednesday, September 18th were paid a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.54%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, September 18th. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio is currently 27.83%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CRM has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Raymond James boosted their target price on Salesforce from $325.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. Oppenheimer reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $330.00 target price (up from $300.00) on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. DA Davidson upped their price target on shares of Salesforce from $230.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $234.00 to $236.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on shares of Salesforce from $265.00 to $305.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-six have assigned a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Salesforce has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $313.37.

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.