Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) Shares Sold by Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC

Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC reduced its holdings in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 43.4% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 211 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after selling 162 shares during the period. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $57,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Midland Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Salesforce by 3.0% in the 1st quarter. Midland Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,973 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $798,000 after purchasing an additional 86 shares during the period. Everest Management Corp. lifted its stake in shares of Salesforce by 74.8% during the first quarter. Everest Management Corp. now owns 3,897 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $1,046,000 after acquiring an additional 1,667 shares during the period. Tounjian Advisory Partners LLC bought a new position in Salesforce during the first quarter worth about $3,247,000. Pallas Capital Advisors LLC raised its stake in Salesforce by 9.8% during the 1st quarter. Pallas Capital Advisors LLC now owns 39,285 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $10,542,000 after buying an additional 3,497 shares during the period. Finally, WFA Asset Management Corp boosted its stake in Salesforce by 614.3% in the 1st quarter. WFA Asset Management Corp now owns 400 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $107,000 after purchasing an additional 344 shares during the period. 80.43% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on CRM shares. Westpark Capital reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $320.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Wednesday, May 28th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $404.00 price objective (up previously from $393.00) on shares of Salesforce in a report on Thursday, May 29th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped 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. Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $425.00 to $347.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 29th. Finally, Redburn Atlantic assumed coverage on shares of Salesforce in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. They issued a “buy” rating for the company. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating, twenty-seven have assigned a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $346.34.

Salesforce Price Performance

NYSE CRM opened at $274.48 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $262.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 45.14, a PEG ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 1.38. Salesforce, Inc. has a one year low of $227.77 and a one year high of $369.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a current ratio of 1.11. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $266.57 and a 200 day moving average of $302.19.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 28th. The CRM provider reported $2.58 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.55 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $9.83 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.74 billion. Salesforce had a net margin of 15.96% and a return on equity of 12.34%. The firm’s revenue was up 7.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.44 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.46 EPS for the current year.

Salesforce Cuts Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 10th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, June 18th will be issued a dividend of $0.416 per share. This represents a $1.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.61%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, June 18th. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 25.98%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider R David Schmaier sold 6,959 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $253.31, for a total transaction of $1,762,784.29. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 36,090 shares in the company, valued at $9,141,957.90. This represents a 16.17% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 11,711 shares in the company, valued at $3,220,525. This trade represents a 4.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 40,332 shares of company stock valued at $11,024,802. 3.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.