HCR Wealth Advisors Increases Stock Position in Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

HCR Wealth Advisors grew its holdings in Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 25.9% during the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 1,691 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after buying an additional 348 shares during the period. HCR Wealth Advisors’ holdings in Salesforce were worth $454,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of CRM. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC raised its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 4.1% in the fourth quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 787 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $263,000 after acquiring an additional 31 shares during the last quarter. Prossimo Advisors LLC increased its position in Salesforce by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Prossimo Advisors LLC now owns 3,366 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $1,125,000 after purchasing an additional 32 shares in the last quarter. Mainstream Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Salesforce by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Mainstream Capital Management LLC now owns 6,409 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $2,143,000 after purchasing an additional 33 shares during the last quarter. Citizens National Bank Trust Department raised its stake in Salesforce by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. Citizens National Bank Trust Department now owns 1,924 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $643,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Delap Wealth Advisory LLC boosted its stake in shares of Salesforce by 2.7% during the 4th quarter. Delap Wealth Advisory LLC now owns 1,336 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $447,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares during the last quarter. 80.43% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Salesforce Price Performance

CRM opened at $258.98 on Thursday. Salesforce Inc. has a twelve month low of $230.00 and a twelve month high of $369.00. The firm has a market cap of $247.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.53, a PEG ratio of 2.38 and a beta of 1.38. The company has a current ratio of 1.07, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $268.31 and a 200 day simple moving average of $298.72.

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 business had revenue of $9.83 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.74 billion. Salesforce had a return on equity of 12.94% and a net margin of 16.08%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.44 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that Salesforce Inc. will post 7.46 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Cuts Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently issued reports on CRM shares. Stephens decreased their target price on shares of Salesforce from $311.00 to $309.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 30th. Bank of America decreased their price objective on Salesforce from $440.00 to $400.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Barclays lowered their price objective on Salesforce from $425.00 to $347.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 29th. Mizuho reduced their target price on Salesforce from $425.00 to $380.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 15th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their price target on Salesforce from $243.00 to $255.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a report on Thursday, May 29th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, twenty-eight have assigned a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $349.08.

Insider Transactions at Salesforce

In other news, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 1,909 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $284.58, for a total value of $543,263.22. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 11,310 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,218,599.80. The trade was a 14.44% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, 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 completion of the sale, the insider now owns 36,090 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,141,957.90. This trade represents a 16.17% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 34,111 shares of company stock valued at $9,299,283. 3.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.