Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM) Shares Bought by YHB Investment Advisors Inc.

YHB Investment Advisors Inc. lifted its position in shares of Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 6.0% during the first quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 21,375 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,217 shares during the quarter. YHB Investment Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $5,736,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Salesforce in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $3,599,867,000. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main raised its position in Salesforce by 926.4% in the fourth quarter. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main now owns 4,256,211 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $1,422,979,000 after acquiring an additional 3,841,521 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in Salesforce by 30,456.9% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,801,588 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $1,020,194,000 after acquiring an additional 3,789,147 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in Salesforce in the fourth quarter valued at $1,173,564,000. Finally, Invesco Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Salesforce by 42.5% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 7,791,015 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $2,604,770,000 after purchasing an additional 2,325,156 shares in the last quarter. 80.43% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Salesforce Stock Up 1.0%

Shares of CRM opened at $263.14 on Tuesday. Salesforce Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $230.00 and a fifty-two week high of $369.00. The company’s fifty day moving average is $268.69 and its two-hundred day moving average is $296.11. The firm has a market cap of $251.56 billion, a PE ratio of 41.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 1.38. The company has a quick ratio of 1.07, a current ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, May 28th. The CRM provider reported $2.58 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.55 by $0.03. Salesforce had a return on equity of 12.94% and a net margin of 16.08%. The business had revenue of $9.83 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.74 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.44 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 7.6% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that Salesforce Inc. will post 7.46 earnings per share for the current year.

Salesforce Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 10th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, June 18th will be paid a $0.416 dividend. This represents a $1.66 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.63%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, June 18th. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio is currently 25.98%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 500 shares of the 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 completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 11,711 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,220,525. This represents a 4.09% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider R David Schmaier sold 1,785 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $288.34, for a total value of $514,686.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 29,190 shares in the company, valued at $8,416,644.60. This trade represents a 5.76% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 24,992 shares of company stock valued at $6,704,198 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CRM has been the subject of a number of research reports. Northland Securities reduced their price target on shares of Salesforce from $423.00 to $396.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 29th. Mizuho reduced their price objective on Salesforce from $425.00 to $380.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 15th. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $325.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a report on Friday. Morgan Stanley restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $404.00 price target (up previously from $393.00) on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Thursday, May 29th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $425.00 to $375.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 31st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, twenty-eight have issued a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $349.08.

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.