Castle Wealth Management LLC Acquires 190 Shares of Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Castle Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 3.4% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 5,774 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after buying an additional 190 shares during the quarter. Castle Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $1,550,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. bought a new stake in shares of Salesforce in the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. Accredited Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Salesforce in the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Wood Tarver Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Salesforce in the fourth quarter worth about $35,000. VSM Wealth Advisory LLC purchased a new position in shares of Salesforce in the fourth quarter worth about $45,000. Finally, Vermillion Wealth Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Salesforce by 138.9% in the first quarter. Vermillion Wealth Management Inc. now owns 172 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $46,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 80.43% of the company’s stock.

Salesforce Price Performance

CRM stock opened at $269.06 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $257.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 42.11, a P/E/G ratio of 2.46 and a beta of 1.36. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $272.06 and its 200 day moving average is $292.92. Salesforce Inc. has a 52 week low of $230.00 and a 52 week high of $369.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a current ratio of 1.07.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 28th. The CRM provider reported $2.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.55 by $0.03. Salesforce had a return on equity of 12.94% and a net margin of 16.08%. The firm had revenue of $9.83 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.74 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.44 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that Salesforce Inc. will post 7.46 earnings per share for the current year.

Salesforce Cuts Dividend

The business 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 dividend of $0.416 per share. This represents a $1.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.62%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, June 18th. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 25.98%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently weighed in on CRM. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $340.00 to $385.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 29th. Macquarie reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $320.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Northland Securities reduced their price target on Salesforce from $423.00 to $396.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 29th. Stephens decreased their price objective on Salesforce from $311.00 to $309.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 30th. Finally, Barclays cut their target price on Salesforce from $425.00 to $347.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 29th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, twenty-eight have given a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $349.08.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Parker Harris sold 1,142 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $262.35, for a total value of $299,603.70. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 136,824 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $35,895,776.40. This trade represents a 0.83% 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, insider Miguel Milano sold 405 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the insider directly owned 9,933 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,605,922.55. The trade was a 3.92% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 28,534 shares of company stock valued at $7,609,842. Corporate insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

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.