Blackston Financial Advisory Group LLC Increases Holdings in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Blackston Financial Advisory Group LLC increased its position in shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 19.8% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,732 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 286 shares during the quarter. Blackston Financial Advisory Group LLC’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $465,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of CRM. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC lifted its stake in shares of Salesforce by 4.1% in the fourth quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 787 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $263,000 after purchasing an additional 31 shares during the period. Prossimo Advisors LLC grew its position in Salesforce by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Prossimo Advisors LLC now owns 3,366 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $1,125,000 after buying an additional 32 shares during the period. Mainstream Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Salesforce by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Mainstream Capital Management LLC now owns 6,409 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $2,143,000 after acquiring an additional 33 shares during the period. Citizens National Bank Trust Department boosted its stake in shares of Salesforce by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. Citizens National Bank Trust Department now owns 1,924 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $643,000 after acquiring an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Delap Wealth Advisory LLC grew its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 2.7% in the 4th quarter. Delap Wealth Advisory LLC now owns 1,336 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $447,000 after acquiring an additional 35 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.43% of the company’s stock.

Salesforce Price Performance

CRM opened at $263.63 on Tuesday. Salesforce, Inc. has a 52-week low of $227.77 and a 52-week high of $369.00. The company has a 50 day moving average of $268.49 and a two-hundred day moving average of $299.25. The company has a market cap of $252.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 43.36, a P/E/G 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 quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 28th. The CRM provider reported $2.58 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.74 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.44 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 7.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.46 earnings per share for the current year.

Salesforce Cuts Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 10th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, June 18th will be paid a $0.416 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, June 18th. This represents a $1.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.63%. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 25.98%.

Insider Activity at Salesforce

In related news, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 1,909 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $284.58, for a total transaction of $543,263.22. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 11,310 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,218,599.80. This trade represents a 14.44% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Parker Harris sold 3,273 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $284.58, for a total transaction of $931,430.34. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 125,146 shares in the company, valued at $35,614,048.68. This represents a 2.55% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 34,111 shares of company stock worth $9,299,283. 3.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have commented on CRM shares. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their target price on Salesforce from $425.00 to $375.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Stephens decreased their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $311.00 to $309.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 30th. Cantor Fitzgerald started coverage on shares of Salesforce in a report on Tuesday, June 3rd. They set an “overweight” rating and a $325.00 target price for the company. Northland Securities reduced their price target on shares of Salesforce from $423.00 to $396.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 29th. Finally, Piper Sandler raised their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $315.00 to $335.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 28th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating, twenty-seven have issued a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Salesforce presently has an average 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.