SeaBridge Investment Advisors LLC Has $5.50 Million Position in Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

SeaBridge Investment Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 2.0% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 20,479 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 399 shares during the quarter. Salesforce accounts for about 1.2% of SeaBridge Investment Advisors LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 21st biggest position. SeaBridge Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $5,496,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of CRM. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its stake in Salesforce by 13.7% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 25,668 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $8,582,000 after purchasing an additional 3,102 shares during the period. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC raised its holdings in Salesforce by 12.6% in the 4th quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 1,827 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $611,000 after acquiring an additional 205 shares in the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Salesforce by 70.4% during the 4th quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 2,791 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $933,000 after acquiring an additional 1,153 shares during the period. Harbour Investments Inc. lifted its position in shares of Salesforce by 9.7% during the 4th quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 3,407 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $1,139,000 after acquiring an additional 300 shares during the period. Finally, BlackDiamond Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Salesforce by 14.7% during the 4th quarter. BlackDiamond Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,346 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $450,000 after acquiring an additional 172 shares during the period. 80.43% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Salesforce

In other Salesforce news, insider Parker Harris sold 1,142 shares of the 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 transaction, the insider owned 136,824 shares in the company, valued at approximately $35,895,776.40. This represents a 0.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Marc Benioff sold 2,250 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, July 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $260.30, for a total value of $585,675.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 11,955,566 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,112,033,829.80. The trade was a 0.02% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 31,569 shares of company stock valued at $8,533,528. Corporate insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on CRM. Barclays cut their target price on Salesforce from $425.00 to $347.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 29th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $404.00 target price (up from $393.00) on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Thursday, May 29th. Macquarie reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $320.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Sanford C. Bernstein boosted their price target on Salesforce from $243.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a report on Thursday, May 29th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald cut Salesforce from an “overweight” rating to a “cautious” rating in a report on Thursday, July 10th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, twenty-seven have given a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $348.16.

Salesforce Stock Performance

Shares of CRM opened at $257.64 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $271.51 and a 200 day moving average price of $287.73. The company has a quick ratio of 1.07, a current ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. The company has a market capitalization of $246.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 1.36. Salesforce Inc. has a 52-week low of $230.00 and a 52-week high of $369.00.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 28th. The CRM provider reported $2.58 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 return on equity of 12.94% and a net margin of 16.08%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.44 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that Salesforce Inc. will post 7.46 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 10th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, June 18th were paid a dividend of $0.416 per share. This represents a $1.66 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.65%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, June 18th. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 25.98%.

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.