Verdence Capital Advisors LLC Has $595,000 Position in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Verdence Capital Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 11.2% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,174 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 219 shares during the quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $595,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Piscataqua Savings Bank increased its position in Salesforce by 2,400.0% in the 2nd 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 increased its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 98 shares during the period. Stephens Consulting LLC increased its holdings in Salesforce by 3,125.0% in the second quarter. Stephens Consulting LLC now owns 129 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 125 shares during the period. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL bought a new position in Salesforce during the 2nd quarter worth $33,000. Finally, Godsey & Gibb Inc. lifted its holdings in Salesforce by 300.0% during 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 during the period. 80.43% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

CRM has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Northland Capmk upgraded Salesforce from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Cfra set a $343.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a report on Thursday, October 17th. TD Cowen upped their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $285.00 to $290.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. Northland Securities upgraded shares of Salesforce from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $270.00 to $400.00 in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Finally, Piper Sandler cut shares of Salesforce from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-six have assigned a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $313.37.

Insider Transactions at Salesforce

In related news, insider Parker Harris sold 3,970 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $296.74, for a total transaction of $1,178,057.80. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 119,402 shares in the company, valued at approximately $35,431,349.48. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other news, insider Parker Harris sold 3,970 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $296.74, for a total transaction of $1,178,057.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 119,402 shares in the company, valued at approximately $35,431,349.48. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $290.23, for a total value of $145,115.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 6,506 shares in the company, valued at $1,888,236.38. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 148,573 shares of company stock worth $42,319,874 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

Salesforce Stock Up 3.6 %

CRM opened at $321.95 on Monday. Salesforce, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $208.84 and a fifty-two week high of $322.81. The firm has a market capitalization of $307.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 55.99, a PEG ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 1.29. The company’s 50-day moving average is $277.76 and its 200 day moving average is $264.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a current ratio of 1.04 and a quick ratio of 1.04.

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. The firm had revenue of $9.33 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.22 billion. Salesforce had a net margin of 15.44% and a return on equity of 12.01%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.63 EPS. Research analysts expect that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 8th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, September 18th were given a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.50%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, September 18th. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio is presently 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.