Bouvel Investment Partners LLC Grows Stake in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Bouvel Investment Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 19,520 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after buying an additional 94 shares during the period. Salesforce accounts for 2.0% of Bouvel Investment Partners LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 15th biggest position. Bouvel Investment Partners LLC’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $5,343,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Fortis Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Salesforce in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $2,952,000. Plato Investment Management Ltd boosted its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 2.3% during the 3rd quarter. Plato Investment Management Ltd now owns 29,864 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $8,166,000 after buying an additional 684 shares in the last quarter. Bell Bank grew its position in shares of Salesforce by 2.0% in the 3rd quarter. Bell Bank now owns 8,661 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $2,371,000 after buying an additional 173 shares during the period. ICICI Prudential Asset Management Co Ltd increased its stake in shares of Salesforce by 16.7% in the 3rd quarter. ICICI Prudential Asset Management Co Ltd now owns 41,215 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $11,281,000 after acquiring an additional 5,900 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Kovack Advisors Inc. lifted its position in Salesforce by 22.5% during the 3rd quarter. Kovack Advisors Inc. now owns 9,213 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $2,522,000 after acquiring an additional 1,690 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 80.43% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have issued reports on CRM. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on shares of Salesforce from $350.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $300.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a report on Thursday, September 19th. Northland Securities upgraded shares of Salesforce from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $270.00 to $400.00 in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. FBN Securities raised shares of Salesforce to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on shares of Salesforce from $320.00 to $350.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, October 28th. Nine equities research 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Salesforce presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $318.23.

Insider Transactions at Salesforce

In related news, CFO Amy E. Weaver sold 897 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $285.29, for a total value of $255,905.13. Following 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 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 413 shares of the company’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 value of $117,824.77. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 7,006 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,998,741.74. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Amy E. Weaver sold 897 shares of Salesforce 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 $255,905.13. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 52,930 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,100,399.70. The trade was 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 144,373 shares of company stock worth $41,250,680. 3.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Salesforce Trading Up 0.2 %

CRM stock opened at $341.72 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $326.68 billion, a PE ratio of 59.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 1.29. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $281.40 and a 200 day moving average price of $265.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a current ratio of 1.04. Salesforce, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $212.00 and a fifty-two week high of $348.86.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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. The company had revenue of $9.33 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.22 billion. Salesforce had a return on equity of 12.01% and a net margin of 15.44%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.63 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Dividend Announcement

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

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.