Financial Enhancement Group LLC Buys New Holdings in Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Financial Enhancement Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund acquired 2,254 shares of the CRM provider’s stock, valued at approximately $605,000.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Athena Investment Management acquired a new stake in shares of Salesforce during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $236,000. Jag Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 22,797 shares during the period. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp grew its stake in Salesforce by 2.7% in the fourth quarter. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp now owns 27,358 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $9,146,000 after purchasing an additional 723 shares in the last quarter. Millstone Evans Group LLC bought a new stake in Salesforce during the fourth quarter valued at $823,000. Finally, Heartland Bank & Trust Co lifted its holdings in Salesforce by 117.2% in the first quarter. Heartland Bank & Trust Co now owns 5,981 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $1,605,000 after acquiring an additional 3,227 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.43% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Salesforce

In other Salesforce news, insider Miguel Milano sold 405 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, June 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $262.35, for a total value of $106,251.75. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 9,933 shares in the company, valued at $2,605,922.55. This trade represents a 3.92% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 261 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $262.35, for a total value of $68,473.35. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 12,024 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,154,496.40. This represents a 2.12% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 26,284 shares of company stock valued at $6,996,762. 3.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Salesforce Price Performance

CRM stock opened at $271.43 on Wednesday. Salesforce Inc. has a 1 year low of $230.00 and a 1 year high of $369.00. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $269.02 and its 200 day moving average price is $295.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a current ratio of 1.07. The firm has a market cap of $259.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 42.48, a PEG ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 1.38.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, May 28th. The CRM provider reported $2.58 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.55 by $0.03. Salesforce had a net margin of 16.08% and a return on equity of 12.94%. The firm had revenue of $9.83 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.74 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.44 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Salesforce Inc. will post 7.46 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 10th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, June 18th will be given a $0.416 dividend. This represents a $1.66 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.61%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, June 18th. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio is currently 25.98%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently commented on CRM. Robert W. Baird dropped their target price on shares of Salesforce from $430.00 to $400.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 27th. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price objective on Salesforce from $367.00 to $350.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, May 27th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their target price on shares of Salesforce from $425.00 to $375.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $404.00 target price (up previously from $393.00) on shares of Salesforce in a report on Thursday, May 29th. Finally, Oppenheimer reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $370.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Tuesday, June 10th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, twenty-eight have assigned a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $349.08.

Salesforce 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.