Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM) Shares Purchased by Convergence Financial LLC

Convergence Financial LLC increased its stake in shares of Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 6.2% during the first quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 6,148 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 361 shares during the period. Convergence Financial LLC’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $1,650,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Brighton Jones LLC raised its holdings in Salesforce by 13.7% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 25,668 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $8,582,000 after purchasing an additional 3,102 shares during the last quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Salesforce by 12.6% in the fourth quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 1,827 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $611,000 after buying an additional 205 shares in the last quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Salesforce during the 4th quarter worth $62,000. SVB Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Salesforce in the 4th quarter worth about $5,439,000. Finally, WR Wealth Planners LLC grew its stake in Salesforce by 9.0% in the 4th quarter. WR Wealth Planners LLC now owns 449 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $150,000 after acquiring an additional 37 shares during the last quarter. 80.43% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Salesforce

In other news, Director Oscar Munoz bought 3,882 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 3rd. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $257.28 per share, with a total value of $998,760.96. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 11,843 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,046,967.04. This trade represents a 48.76% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 261 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $262.35, for a total transaction of $68,473.35. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 12,024 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,154,496.40. The trade was a 2.12% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 26,284 shares of company stock valued at $6,996,762 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CRM has been the topic of several recent research reports. Citigroup reduced their price target on shares of Salesforce from $320.00 to $295.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 30th. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and set a $325.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Thursday. Macquarie reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $320.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price target on Salesforce from $425.00 to $375.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, March 31st. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada downgraded Salesforce from an “outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $420.00 to $275.00 in a research report on Thursday, May 29th. Two research 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 given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Salesforce presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $349.08.

Salesforce Trading Up 0.7%

NYSE CRM opened at $272.72 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $260.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.68, a PEG ratio of 2.48 and a beta of 1.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a current ratio of 1.07. Salesforce Inc. has a one year low of $230.00 and a one year high of $369.00. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $270.38 and its 200 day moving average price is $294.25.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, May 28th. The CRM provider reported $2.58 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.55 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $9.83 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.74 billion. Salesforce had a net margin of 16.08% and a return on equity of 12.94%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.44 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Salesforce Inc. will post 7.46 EPS for the current year.

Salesforce Cuts Dividend

The business 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 dividend of $0.416 per share. This represents a $1.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.61%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, June 18th. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio is presently 25.98%.

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.