The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lowered its stake in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM - Free Report) by 5.2% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,640,001 shares of the CRM provider's stock after selling 143,789 shares during the period. Salesforce accounts for 0.6% of The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company's holdings, making the stock its 27th biggest position. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company owned 0.28% of Salesforce worth $722,597,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in CRM. Piscataqua Savings Bank grew its stake in Salesforce by 2,400.0% during the 2nd quarter. Piscataqua Savings Bank now owns 100 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 96 shares during the last quarter. Clear Investment Research LLC boosted its position in Salesforce by 816.7% in the second quarter. Clear Investment Research LLC now owns 110 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 98 shares during the last quarter. Godsey & Gibb Inc. boosted its position in Salesforce by 300.0% in the third quarter. Godsey & Gibb Inc. now owns 120 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 90 shares during the last quarter. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL acquired a new position in Salesforce in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $33,000. Finally, Stephens Consulting LLC raised its position in 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 last quarter. 80.43% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.
NYSE CRM opened at $339.12 on Tuesday. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $296.26 and its 200-day simple moving average is $268.98. The company has a quick ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. The firm has a market cap of $324.20 billion, a PE ratio of 58.98, a P/E/G ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 1.29. Salesforce, Inc. has a 52 week low of $212.00 and a 52 week high of $348.86.
Salesforce (NYSE:CRM - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, August 28th. The CRM provider reported $2.56 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.36 by $0.20. The company had revenue of $9.33 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.22 billion. Salesforce had a net margin of 15.44% and a return on equity of 12.01%. Salesforce's revenue was up 8.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.63 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.55 earnings per share for the current year.
The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 8th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, September 18th were paid a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.47%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, September 18th. Salesforce's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 27.83%.
CRM has been the topic of a number of research reports. Sanford C. Bernstein increased 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. 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. Piper Sandler downgraded Salesforce from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Erste Group Bank upgraded Salesforce from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. Finally, Oppenheimer restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $385.00 price objective (up previously from $330.00) on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-eight have given a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Salesforce has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $339.66.
Get Our Latest Stock Report on CRM
In other Salesforce news, insider Miguel Milano sold 719 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $342.81, for a total transaction of $246,480.39. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 4,659 shares in the company, valued at $1,597,151.79. This trade represents a 13.37 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, COO Brian Millham sold 60,522 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $300.00, for a total transaction of $18,156,600.00. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 144,510 shares of company stock worth $42,475,538. 3.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.
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.
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