BigSur Wealth Management LLC Grows Position in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

BigSur Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 17.0% in the first quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 11,700 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after buying an additional 1,700 shares during the period. BigSur Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $3,140,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Athena Investment Management purchased a new stake in shares of Salesforce in the fourth quarter worth $236,000. Jag Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Salesforce by 2,507.9% in the 4th quarter. Jag Capital Management LLC now owns 23,706 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $7,926,000 after buying an additional 22,797 shares in the last quarter. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp raised its holdings in Salesforce by 2.7% during the fourth quarter. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp now owns 27,358 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $9,146,000 after acquiring an additional 723 shares during the period. Dash Acquisitions Inc. lifted its position in shares of Salesforce by 2.6% in the fourth quarter. Dash Acquisitions Inc. now owns 60,521 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $21,785,000 after acquiring an additional 1,525 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Millstone Evans Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Salesforce in the fourth quarter valued at about $823,000. Institutional investors own 80.43% of the company’s stock.

Salesforce Stock Down 3.2%

Shares of CRM opened at $258.25 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $268.09 and a 200-day moving average price of $300.13. The company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. The firm has a market capitalization of $246.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 42.48, a P/E/G ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 1.38. Salesforce, Inc. has a 12-month low of $227.77 and a 12-month high of $369.00.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 28th. The CRM provider reported $2.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.55 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $9.83 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.74 billion. Salesforce had a net margin of 15.96% and a return on equity of 12.34%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 7.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.44 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.46 earnings per share for the current 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 given a dividend of $0.416 per share. This represents a $1.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.64%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, June 18th. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 25.98%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO Amy E. Weaver sold 6,221 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $277.37, for a total transaction of $1,725,518.77. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 46,750 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,967,047.50. This trade represents a 11.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $275.00, for a total value of $137,500.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 11,711 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,220,525. This trade represents a 4.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 40,332 shares of company stock worth $11,024,802. 3.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently issued reports on CRM. Bank of America decreased their target price on Salesforce from $440.00 to $400.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Stephens reduced their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $311.00 to $309.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 30th. Cantor Fitzgerald began coverage on shares of Salesforce in a report on Tuesday, June 3rd. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $325.00 target price on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group cut their target price on shares of Salesforce from $425.00 to $375.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, March 31st. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein boosted their price target on shares of Salesforce from $243.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 29th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating, twenty-seven have assigned a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $346.34.

Salesforce Company 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.