Beech Hill Advisors Inc. Decreases Stake in Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Beech Hill Advisors Inc. cut its holdings in Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 1.3% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 14,275 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after selling 190 shares during the period. Salesforce comprises approximately 1.5% of Beech Hill Advisors Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 24th biggest holding. Beech Hill Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $3,831,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the business. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in Salesforce by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 19,955,353 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $6,656,078,000 after buying an additional 175,035 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in Salesforce by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 12,453,872 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $4,163,703,000 after acquiring an additional 177,321 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp grew its position in shares of Salesforce by 18.3% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 11,224,927 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $3,752,830,000 after acquiring an additional 1,736,667 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Salesforce during the 4th quarter worth approximately $3,599,867,000. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 23.2% in the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 8,938,536 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $2,988,422,000 after purchasing an additional 1,683,233 shares during the period. 80.43% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Salesforce Trading Down 1.1%

Shares of NYSE CRM opened at $268.11 on Thursday. Salesforce Inc. has a 1-year low of $230.00 and a 1-year high of $369.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a current ratio of 1.07 and a quick ratio of 1.07. The business’s 50 day moving average is $269.39 and its two-hundred day moving average is $295.75. The stock has a market capitalization of $256.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 41.96, a PEG ratio of 2.46 and a beta of 1.38.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, May 28th. The CRM provider reported $2.58 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.55 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $9.83 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.44 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Salesforce Inc. will post 7.46 EPS for the current year.

Salesforce Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 10th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, June 18th will be paid a $0.416 dividend. This represents a $1.66 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.62%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, June 18th. Salesforce’s payout ratio is currently 25.98%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Loop Capital decreased their price objective on Salesforce from $330.00 to $300.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Stephens reduced their target price on shares of Salesforce from $311.00 to $309.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 30th. Oppenheimer restated an “outperform” rating and set a $370.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Tuesday, June 10th. Bank of America reduced their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $440.00 to $400.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, Robert W. Baird cut their price target on Salesforce from $430.00 to $400.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, twenty-eight have assigned a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $349.08.

Insider Activity at Salesforce

In other Salesforce news, insider R David Schmaier sold 6,959 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $253.31, for a total value of $1,762,784.29. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 36,090 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,141,957.90. This represents a 16.17% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Miguel Milano sold 405 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, June 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $262.35, for a total value of $106,251.75. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 9,933 shares in the company, valued at $2,605,922.55. The trade was a 3.92% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 26,284 shares of company stock worth $6,996,762 in the last quarter. 3.20% of the stock is 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.