KMG Fiduciary Partners LLC Boosts Stock Position in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

KMG Fiduciary Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 64.3% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 40,489 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after buying an additional 15,841 shares during the quarter. Salesforce accounts for approximately 0.9% of KMG Fiduciary Partners LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 26th largest position. KMG Fiduciary Partners LLC’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $10,866,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Salesforce by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 19,955,353 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $6,656,078,000 after buying an additional 175,035 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in Salesforce by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 12,453,872 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $4,163,703,000 after buying an additional 177,321 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp boosted its stake in Salesforce by 18.3% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 11,224,927 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $3,752,830,000 after buying an additional 1,736,667 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Salesforce during the fourth quarter worth $3,599,867,000. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its stake in Salesforce by 23.2% during the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 8,938,536 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $2,988,422,000 after buying an additional 1,683,233 shares during the period. 80.43% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Salesforce news, insider R David Schmaier sold 6,959 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $253.31, for a total value of $1,762,784.29. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 36,090 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,141,957.90. The trade was a 16.17% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Srinivas Tallapragada sold 6,697 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $295.00, for a total transaction of $1,975,615.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 41,422 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,219,490. This represents a 13.92% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 40,332 shares of company stock worth $11,024,802. 3.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Salesforce Stock Up 2.7%

NYSE:CRM opened at $274.48 on Friday. Salesforce, Inc. has a 1-year low of $227.77 and a 1-year high of $369.00. The company has a 50-day moving average of $266.57 and a 200 day moving average of $302.42. The firm has a market cap of $262.40 billion, a PE ratio of 45.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 1.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 1.11.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, May 28th. The CRM provider reported $2.58 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.55 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $9.83 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.74 billion. Salesforce had a net margin of 15.96% and a return on equity of 12.34%. The firm’s revenue was up 7.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.44 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.46 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 10th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, June 18th will be issued a $0.416 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, June 18th. This represents a $1.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.61%. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio is presently 25.98%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have commented on the stock. Canaccord Genuity Group dropped their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $400.00 to $350.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, May 28th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $255.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 29th. Barclays lowered their target price on shares of Salesforce from $425.00 to $347.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 29th. Sanford C. Bernstein boosted their target price on shares of Salesforce from $243.00 to $255.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 29th. Finally, Westpark Capital reissued a “buy” rating and set a $320.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Wednesday, May 28th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating, twenty-seven have assigned a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $346.34.

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.