Jericho Financial LLP Cuts Stock Position in Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Jericho Financial LLP lowered its holdings in Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 4.8% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 17,987 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after selling 900 shares during the period. Salesforce comprises 3.5% of Jericho Financial LLP’s holdings, making the stock its 14th largest position. Jericho Financial LLP’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $4,827,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. purchased a new position in shares of Salesforce during the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Accredited Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Salesforce during the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Salesforce during the 4th quarter valued at $35,000. Wood Tarver Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Salesforce during the 4th quarter valued at $35,000. Finally, VSM Wealth Advisory LLC purchased a new position in shares of Salesforce during the 4th quarter valued at $45,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.43% of the company’s stock.

Salesforce Stock Performance

NYSE:CRM opened at $260.79 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $249.31 billion, a PE ratio of 40.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 1.38. Salesforce Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $230.00 and a fifty-two week high of $369.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a current ratio of 1.07. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $268.51 and a 200-day moving average price of $296.80.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 28th. The CRM provider reported $2.58 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.55 by $0.03. Salesforce had a return on equity of 12.94% and a net margin of 16.08%. The company had revenue of $9.83 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.74 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.44 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 7.6% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that Salesforce Inc. will post 7.46 earnings per share for the current year.

Salesforce Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 10th. Investors of record on Wednesday, June 18th will be paid a $0.416 dividend. This represents a $1.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a 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 research firms recently issued reports on CRM. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price objective on Salesforce from $425.00 to $375.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 31st. Barclays decreased their price target on Salesforce from $425.00 to $347.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 29th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on Salesforce from $340.00 to $385.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 29th. Piper Sandler upped their price target on Salesforce from $315.00 to $335.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 28th. Finally, Erste Group Bank cut Salesforce from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 5th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, twenty-eight have issued a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Salesforce presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $349.08.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Salesforce news, insider Srinivas Tallapragada sold 6,697 shares of the 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 completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 41,422 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,219,490. This represents a 13.92% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Brian Millham sold 979 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $253.66, for a total value of $248,333.14. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 6,487 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,645,492.42. This trade represents a 13.11% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 24,992 shares of company stock valued at $6,704,198 over the last quarter. 3.20% of the stock is owned by company 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.