Pallas Capital Advisors LLC Increases Stake in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Pallas Capital Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 9.8% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 39,285 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,497 shares during the period. Pallas Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $10,542,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. purchased a new position in shares of Salesforce in the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Accredited Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Salesforce during the fourth quarter valued at about $27,000. Arlington Trust Co LLC raised its holdings in Salesforce by 85.1% in the fourth quarter. Arlington Trust Co LLC now owns 87 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 40 shares in the last quarter. Compass Financial Services Inc bought a new position in Salesforce in the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. Finally, Asset Planning Inc bought a new stake in shares of Salesforce in the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.43% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently commented on CRM. Cantor Fitzgerald started coverage on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Tuesday, June 3rd. They set an “overweight” rating and a $325.00 price objective for the company. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $404.00 price target (up from $393.00) on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Thursday, May 29th. Loop Capital lowered their price objective on Salesforce from $330.00 to $300.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Scotiabank reduced their target price on Salesforce from $400.00 to $345.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 17th. Finally, Redburn Atlantic initiated coverage on Salesforce in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. They issued a “buy” rating for the company. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating, twenty-seven have given a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Salesforce currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $346.34.

Salesforce Stock Performance

NYSE CRM opened at $274.48 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 1.11. Salesforce, Inc. has a 1-year low of $227.77 and a 1-year high of $369.00. The company has a market cap of $262.40 billion, a PE ratio of 45.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 1.38. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $266.57 and its 200-day simple moving average is $302.19.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 28th. The CRM provider reported $2.58 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.74 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.44 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate 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. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, June 18th will be given 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 0.61%. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 25.98%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Parker Harris sold 3,273 shares of Salesforce 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 transaction, the insider now owns 125,146 shares in the company, valued at $35,614,048.68. The trade was a 2.55% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider R David Schmaier sold 1,785 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $288.34, for a total transaction of $514,686.90. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 29,190 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,416,644.60. This represents a 5.76% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 40,332 shares of company stock valued at $11,024,802. Insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

Salesforce 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.