Strategic Advisors LLC Has $2.76 Million Holdings in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Strategic Advisors LLC cut its holdings in shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 59.8% during the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 10,269 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after selling 15,261 shares during the period. Strategic Advisors LLC’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $2,756,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in CRM. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. acquired a new stake in shares of Salesforce during the 4th quarter worth $25,000. Accredited Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Salesforce during the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC bought a new position in Salesforce in the 4th quarter valued at about $35,000. Wood Tarver Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Salesforce in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Finally, VSM Wealth Advisory LLC bought a new stake in shares of Salesforce during the 4th quarter worth approximately $45,000. 80.43% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Salesforce Trading Up 2.0%

NYSE: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 firm has a 50-day moving average price of $268.49 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $299.25. 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 firm has a market cap of $252.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 43.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 1.38.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 28th. The CRM provider reported $2.58 EPS 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 the consensus estimate of $9.74 billion. Salesforce had a return on equity of 12.34% and a net margin of 15.96%. Salesforce’s revenue was up 7.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.44 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.46 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Cuts Dividend

The firm 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 dividend of $0.416 per share. This represents a $1.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.63%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, June 18th. Salesforce’s payout ratio is 25.98%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider R David Schmaier sold 6,959 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the insider now owns 36,090 shares in the company, valued at $9,141,957.90. This trade represents a 16.17% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 1,909 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $284.58, for a total value of $543,263.22. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 11,310 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,218,599.80. The trade was a 14.44% 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 valued at $9,299,283. 3.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CRM has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Cantor Fitzgerald started coverage on Salesforce in a research note on Tuesday, June 3rd. They set an “overweight” rating and a $325.00 target price for the company. Oppenheimer reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $370.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Tuesday, June 10th. UBS Group dropped their target price on shares of Salesforce from $320.00 to $300.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, May 27th. Erste Group Bank lowered shares of Salesforce from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, June 5th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective 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 issued a hold rating, twenty-seven have issued a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus 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.