Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) Shares Sold by Selective Wealth Management Inc.

Selective Wealth Management Inc. trimmed its stake in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 2.8% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 23,263 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after selling 681 shares during the quarter. Salesforce accounts for 2.6% of Selective Wealth Management Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 9th largest position. Selective Wealth Management Inc.’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $5,932,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in CRM. Greystone Financial Group LLC increased its holdings in Salesforce by 50.2% in the first quarter. Greystone Financial Group LLC now owns 4,252 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $1,141,000 after buying an additional 1,421 shares during the last quarter. Toth Financial Advisory Corp acquired a new position in shares of Salesforce during the 1st quarter worth $357,000. Wesbanco Bank Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Salesforce by 7.7% in the 1st quarter. Wesbanco Bank Inc. now owns 103,877 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $27,876,000 after purchasing an additional 7,467 shares during the last quarter. Cherrydale Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in Salesforce by 10.2% in the first quarter. Cherrydale Wealth Management LLC now owns 747 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $200,000 after purchasing an additional 69 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Abacus Planning Group Inc. increased its position in Salesforce by 21.6% during the first quarter. Abacus Planning Group Inc. now owns 1,274 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $342,000 after buying an additional 226 shares during the last quarter. 80.43% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Salesforce Stock Up 2.7%

Shares of NYSE CRM opened at $274.48 on Monday. Salesforce, Inc. has a 12-month low of $227.77 and a 12-month high of $369.00. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $266.57 and its 200 day simple moving average is $302.19. The company has a quick ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. The company has a market cap of $262.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 45.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 1.38.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, May 28th. The CRM provider reported $2.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.55 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $9.83 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.74 billion. Salesforce had a net margin of 15.96% and a return on equity of 12.34%. Salesforce’s quarterly revenue was up 7.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.44 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.46 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Cuts Dividend

The company 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 $0.416 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, June 18th. This represents a $1.66 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.61%. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 25.98%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on CRM shares. Royal Bank of Canada downgraded Salesforce from an “outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and cut their price objective for the company from $420.00 to $275.00 in a research note on Thursday, May 29th. Oppenheimer reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $370.00 price target (down from $380.00) on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Thursday, May 29th. Bank of America dropped their price objective on Salesforce from $440.00 to $400.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Canaccord Genuity Group decreased their target price on Salesforce from $400.00 to $350.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, May 28th. Finally, Stephens lowered their target price on Salesforce from $311.00 to $309.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 30th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating, twenty-seven have assigned a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Salesforce has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $346.34.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Srinivas Tallapragada sold 6,697 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $295.00, for a total value of $1,975,615.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 41,422 shares in the company, valued at $12,219,490. This trade represents a 13.92% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $275.00, for a total value of $137,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 11,711 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,220,525. This represents a 4.09% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 40,332 shares of company stock worth $11,024,802 over the last three months. 3.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.