McHugh Group LLC Increases Stock Holdings in Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

McHugh Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 9.8% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 2,250 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the period. McHugh Group LLC’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $604,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Athena Investment Management acquired a new position in Salesforce during the 4th quarter worth $236,000. Jag Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Salesforce by 2,507.9% in the 4th quarter. Jag Capital Management LLC now owns 23,706 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $7,926,000 after buying an additional 22,797 shares during the period. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp boosted its stake in shares of Salesforce by 2.7% in the 4th quarter. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp now owns 27,358 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $9,146,000 after buying an additional 723 shares during the period. Dash Acquisitions Inc. grew its position in shares of Salesforce by 2.6% during the fourth quarter. Dash Acquisitions Inc. now owns 60,521 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $21,785,000 after buying an additional 1,525 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Millstone Evans Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Salesforce during the fourth quarter worth approximately $823,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.43% of the company’s stock.

Salesforce Stock Down 1.4%

CRM opened at $258.98 on Thursday. Salesforce Inc. has a 52 week low of $230.00 and a 52 week high of $369.00. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $268.31 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $298.72. The company has a quick ratio of 1.07, a current ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. The company has a market cap of $247.59 billion, a PE ratio of 40.53, a P/E/G ratio of 2.38 and a beta of 1.38.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 28th. The CRM provider reported $2.58 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.55 by $0.03. Salesforce had a return on equity of 12.94% and a net margin of 16.08%. The business had revenue of $9.83 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.74 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.44 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 7.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Salesforce Inc. will post 7.46 EPS for the current 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 issued a $0.416 dividend. This represents a $1.66 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.64%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, June 18th. Salesforce’s payout ratio is 25.98%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have commented on the stock. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price target on shares of Salesforce from $367.00 to $350.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, May 27th. Canaccord Genuity Group decreased their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $400.00 to $350.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, May 28th. Erste Group Bank lowered Salesforce from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, June 5th. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price target on Salesforce from $425.00 to $375.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, March 31st. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein increased their price objective on Salesforce from $243.00 to $255.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a report on Thursday, May 29th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating, twenty-seven have issued a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $346.34.

Insider Transactions at Salesforce

In other Salesforce news, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 1,909 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $284.58, for a total transaction of $543,263.22. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 11,310 shares in the company, 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 SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Srinivas Tallapragada sold 6,697 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,219,490. This trade represents a 13.92% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 34,111 shares of company stock worth $9,299,283 over the last ninety days. 3.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.