Financial Enhancement Group LLC Buys Shares of 2,254 Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Financial Enhancement Group LLC purchased a new stake in Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM) during the first quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor purchased 2,254 shares of the CRM provider’s stock, valued at approximately $605,000.

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

Salesforce Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:CRM opened at $271.43 on Wednesday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $269.02 and a 200-day moving average price of $295.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a current ratio of 1.07 and a quick ratio of 1.07. The company has a market capitalization of $259.49 billion, a PE ratio of 42.48, a PEG ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 1.38. Salesforce Inc. has a 1-year low of $230.00 and a 1-year high of $369.00.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 28th. The CRM provider reported $2.58 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.55 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $9.83 billion during 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 firm’s quarterly revenue was up 7.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.44 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that Salesforce Inc. will post 7.46 EPS for the current fiscal 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 paid a $0.416 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, June 18th. This represents a $1.66 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.61%. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 25.98%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider R David Schmaier sold 6,959 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $253.31, for a total value of $1,762,784.29. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 36,090 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,141,957.90. This represents a 16.17% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 1,256 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $253.31, for a total transaction of $318,157.36. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 12,826 shares in the company, valued at $3,248,954.06. The trade was a 8.92% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 26,284 shares of company stock worth $6,996,762 in the last ninety days. 3.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on CRM. Citigroup lowered their price objective on Salesforce from $320.00 to $295.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 30th. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $400.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Wednesday, May 28th. UBS Group set a $404.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 18th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Salesforce from $255.00 to $275.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, May 29th. Finally, DA Davidson reaffirmed an “underperform” rating and issued a $200.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a report on Wednesday, May 28th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, twenty-eight have assigned a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Salesforce has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $349.08.

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.