Eads & Heald Wealth Management Cuts Stock Holdings in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Eads & Heald Wealth Management decreased its stake in shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 5.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,881 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after selling 110 shares during the period. Eads & Heald Wealth Management’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $495,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Bear Mountain Capital Inc. purchased a new position in Salesforce in the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Pacifica Partners Inc. raised its stake in shares of Salesforce by 333.3% in the fourth quarter. Pacifica Partners Inc. now owns 130 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the period. BKM Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Salesforce in the fourth quarter valued at $34,000. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. raised its stake in shares of Salesforce by 30.4% in the fourth quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 270 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 63 shares during the period. Finally, Live Oak Investment Partners bought a new stake in shares of Salesforce in the fourth quarter valued at $36,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.43% of the company’s stock.

Salesforce Trading Up 0.6 %

CRM traded up $1.67 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $274.57. 1,952,440 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,643,723. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $298.52 and a two-hundred day moving average of $260.26. The stock has a market capitalization of $266.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 64.94, a P/E/G ratio of 2.26 and a beta of 1.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a current ratio of 1.09 and a quick ratio of 1.09. Salesforce, Inc. has a 52 week low of $190.57 and a 52 week high of $318.71.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 28th. The CRM provider reported $1.78 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.72 by $0.06. Salesforce had a return on equity of 10.42% and a net margin of 11.87%. The business had revenue of $9.29 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.22 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.01 EPS. Salesforce’s quarterly revenue was up 10.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 11th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 14th were given a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.58%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 13th. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio is currently 9.52%.

Insider Transactions at Salesforce

In other news, CEO Marc Benioff sold 15,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $274.01, for a total value of $4,110,150.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 13,761,166 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,770,697,095.66. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, CFO Amy E. Weaver sold 7,074 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $284.00, for a total transaction of $2,009,016.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 38,993 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,074,012. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Marc Benioff sold 15,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $274.01, for a total value of $4,110,150.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 13,761,166 shares in the company, valued at $3,770,697,095.66. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 897,375 shares of company stock valued at $260,206,096. Corporate insiders own 3.70% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the company. KeyCorp assumed coverage on Salesforce in a research note on Thursday, March 21st. They set a “sector weight” rating on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Salesforce from $280.00 to $290.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 21st. Stifel Nicolaus reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $350.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. Wolfe Research restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $365.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Piper Sandler restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $300.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Monday. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-four have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $307.87.

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.