PDS Planning Inc Has $1.37 Million Stake in Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

PDS Planning Inc increased its stake in Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 8.3% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 5,103 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 392 shares during the quarter. PDS Planning Inc’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $1,369,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Salesforce by 0.9% in 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 purchasing an additional 175,035 shares during the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in Salesforce by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 12,453,872 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $4,163,703,000 after buying an additional 177,321 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp increased its position in Salesforce by 18.3% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 11,224,927 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $3,752,830,000 after buying an additional 1,736,667 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Salesforce in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $3,599,867,000. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its stake in shares of Salesforce by 23.2% in the fourth 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 acquiring an additional 1,683,233 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.43% of the company’s stock.

Salesforce Stock Down 1.1%

Salesforce stock opened at $268.11 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $256.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.96, a PEG ratio of 2.46 and a beta of 1.38. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $269.39 and its 200 day simple moving average is $295.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a current ratio of 1.07 and a quick ratio of 1.07. Salesforce Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $230.00 and a fifty-two week high of $369.00.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, May 28th. The CRM provider reported $2.58 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.55 by $0.03. Salesforce had a net margin of 16.08% and a return on equity of 12.94%. The company had revenue of $9.83 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.74 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.44 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Salesforce Inc. will post 7.46 EPS for the current 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 issued a dividend of $0.416 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, June 18th. This represents a $1.66 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.62%. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio is presently 25.98%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

CRM has been the topic of several recent research reports. Stephens decreased their price objective on Salesforce from $311.00 to $309.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 30th. Erste Group Bank lowered Salesforce from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 5th. Mizuho dropped their target price on Salesforce from $425.00 to $380.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 15th. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $400.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Wednesday, May 28th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group dropped their price objective on Salesforce from $400.00 to $350.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, May 28th. Two research 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 assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $349.08.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Miguel Milano sold 705 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $279.44, for a total value of $197,005.20. Following the sale, the insider now owns 9,323 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,605,219.12. This trade represents a 7.03% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Brian Millham sold 979 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $253.66, for a total value of $248,333.14. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 6,487 shares in the company, valued at $1,645,492.42. The trade was a 13.11% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 26,284 shares of company stock worth $6,996,762 over the last ninety days. 3.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate 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.