Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) Shares Purchased by 626 Financial LLC

626 Financial LLC increased its holdings in shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 127.1% during the first quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 4,736 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after buying an additional 2,651 shares during the period. Salesforce accounts for about 0.7% of 626 Financial LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 26th largest holding. 626 Financial LLC’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $1,271,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. acquired a new position in Salesforce during the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Accredited Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Salesforce during the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. Arlington Trust Co LLC boosted its position in Salesforce by 85.1% during the fourth quarter. Arlington Trust Co LLC now owns 87 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 40 shares during the last quarter. Compass Financial Services Inc acquired a new position in Salesforce during the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. Finally, Asset Planning Inc purchased a new position in Salesforce during the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. 80.43% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Salesforce

In other Salesforce news, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $275.00, for a total value of $137,500.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 11,711 shares of the company’s stock, 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 SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Miguel Milano sold 705 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $279.44, for a total transaction of $197,005.20. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 9,323 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,605,219.12. This represents a 7.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 40,332 shares of company stock valued at $11,024,802. Insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

Salesforce Price Performance

Shares of CRM opened at $266.81 on Friday. Salesforce, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $227.77 and a fifty-two week high of $369.00. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $266.48 and its 200 day moving average price is $302.92. The company has a market cap of $255.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 43.88, a PEG ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 1.38. The company has a quick ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last announced 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 net margin of 15.96% and a return on equity of 12.34%. The firm had revenue of $9.83 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.74 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.44 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.46 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 10th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, June 18th will be given a $0.416 dividend. This represents a $1.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.62%. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio is presently 25.98%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CRM has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada downgraded shares of Salesforce from an “outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $420.00 to $275.00 in a research note on Thursday, May 29th. Stephens reduced their target price on shares of Salesforce from $311.00 to $309.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 30th. Loop Capital reduced their target price on shares of Salesforce from $330.00 to $300.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their target price 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. Finally, Barclays reduced their target price on shares of Salesforce from $425.00 to $347.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 29th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating, twenty-seven have given a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Salesforce presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $346.34.

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.