Aspire Private Capital LLC Buys 284 Shares of Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Aspire Private Capital LLC boosted its stake in Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 7.6% in the first quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 4,003 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 284 shares during the period. Aspire Private Capital LLC’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $1,074,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in CRM. Tallon Kerry Patrick bought a new stake in Salesforce in the 4th quarter worth approximately $236,000. Brighton Jones LLC grew its position in Salesforce by 13.7% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 25,668 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $8,582,000 after purchasing an additional 3,102 shares during the period. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA bought a new stake in Salesforce in the 4th quarter worth approximately $104,173,000. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC grew its position in Salesforce by 12.6% in the 4th quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 1,827 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $611,000 after purchasing an additional 205 shares during the period. Finally, Strategic Financial Concepts LLC bought a new stake in Salesforce in the 4th quarter worth approximately $204,000. Institutional investors own 80.43% of the company’s stock.

Salesforce Stock Up 0.5%

Shares of CRM stock opened at $260.79 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $249.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.81, a PEG ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 1.38. Salesforce Inc. has a 52 week low of $230.00 and a 52 week high of $369.00. The company has a quick ratio of 1.07, a current ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $268.51 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $297.74.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 28th. The CRM provider reported $2.58 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.55 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $9.83 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.74 billion. Salesforce had a net margin of 16.08% and a return on equity of 12.94%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 7.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.44 EPS. Analysts predict that Salesforce Inc. will post 7.46 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 10th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, June 18th will be paid a $0.416 dividend. This represents a $1.66 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.64%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, June 18th. Salesforce’s payout ratio is currently 25.98%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the stock. DA Davidson reaffirmed an “underperform” rating and issued a $200.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Wednesday, May 28th. Scotiabank dropped their price target on shares of Salesforce from $400.00 to $345.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 17th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $404.00 price target (up previously from $393.00) on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Thursday, May 29th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Salesforce from $255.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 29th. Finally, Westpark Capital reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $320.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Wednesday, May 28th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, twenty-eight have given a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Salesforce currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $349.08.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider R David Schmaier sold 6,959 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 36,090 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,141,957.90. This represents a 16.17% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Brian Millham sold 3,937 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $284.58, for a total transaction of $1,120,391.46. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 5,518 shares in the company, valued at $1,570,312.44. This represents a 41.64% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 34,111 shares of company stock worth $9,299,283 in the last 90 days. 3.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Salesforce Company 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.