Griffin Asset Management Inc. Grows Position in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Griffin Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 332.2% in the first quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 2,965 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,279 shares during the quarter. Griffin Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $796,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. purchased a new position in shares of Salesforce in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Accredited Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Salesforce in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Asset Planning Inc acquired a new stake in Salesforce in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Salesforce in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Finally, Wood Tarver Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in Salesforce in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.43% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Salesforce

In related news, insider Miguel Milano sold 705 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $279.44, for a total value of $197,005.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 9,323 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,605,219.12. The trade was a 7.03% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Amy E. Weaver sold 6,221 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $277.37, for a total transaction of $1,725,518.77. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 46,750 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,967,047.50. The trade was a 11.74% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 40,332 shares of company stock valued at $11,024,802 in the last 90 days. 3.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently weighed in on CRM. Scotiabank reduced their target price on shares of Salesforce from $400.00 to $345.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, March 17th. Piper Sandler raised their target price on shares of Salesforce from $315.00 to $335.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 28th. UBS Group reduced their target price on shares of Salesforce from $320.00 to $300.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, May 27th. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $400.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a report on Wednesday, May 28th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Salesforce from $255.00 to $275.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 29th. Two equities 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 given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $346.34.

Salesforce Price Performance

Salesforce stock opened at $258.25 on Friday. 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 business has a fifty day moving average of $268.09 and a two-hundred day moving average of $300.13. The company has a market cap of $246.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 42.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 1.38.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 28th. The CRM provider reported $2.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.55 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $9.83 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.74 billion. Salesforce had a return on equity of 12.34% and a net margin of 15.96%. The business’s revenue was up 7.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.44 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.46 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.64%. The ex-dividend date is 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.