Bank of New York Mellon Corp Cuts Stake in Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Bank of New York Mellon Corp lowered its position in shares of Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 2.5% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 6,193,339 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after selling 160,318 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp owned approximately 0.64% of Salesforce worth $1,662,044,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of CRM. Brighton Jones LLC increased its position in shares of Salesforce by 13.7% in the 4th 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 grew its stake in Salesforce by 12.6% during the 4th quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 1,827 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $611,000 after buying an additional 205 shares during the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Salesforce by 70.4% during the fourth quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 2,791 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $933,000 after acquiring an additional 1,153 shares during the last quarter. Ethos Financial Group LLC bought a new position in Salesforce in the 4th quarter worth about $237,000. Finally, Welch & Forbes LLC grew its holdings in Salesforce by 3.5% in the 4th quarter. Welch & Forbes LLC now owns 9,395 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $3,141,000 after buying an additional 316 shares in the last quarter. 80.43% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Parker Harris sold 1,142 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $262.35, for a total transaction of $299,603.70. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 136,824 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $35,895,776.40. The trade was a 0.83% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Srinivas Tallapragada sold 6,697 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owned 41,422 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,219,490. This represents a 13.92% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 28,534 shares of company stock worth $7,609,842. Insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently issued reports on CRM. Citigroup decreased their price target on Salesforce from $320.00 to $295.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 30th. Guggenheim upgraded shares of Salesforce from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, April 21st. Sanford C. Bernstein increased their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $243.00 to $255.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a report on Thursday, May 29th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $404.00 price objective (up from $393.00) on shares of Salesforce in a report on Thursday, May 29th. Finally, 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 research note on Monday, March 31st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, twenty-eight have issued a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $349.08.

Salesforce Stock Performance

Shares of CRM stock opened at $271.58 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $272.28 and its two-hundred day moving average is $291.78. Salesforce Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $230.00 and a fifty-two week high of $369.00. The firm has a market cap of $259.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 42.50, a PEG ratio of 2.47 and a beta of 1.36. 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 (NYSE:CRM) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, May 28th. The CRM provider reported $2.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.55 by $0.03. Salesforce had a net margin of 16.08% and a return on equity of 12.94%. The firm had revenue of $9.83 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.74 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.44 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 7.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that Salesforce Inc. will post 7.46 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 10th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, June 18th will be given a dividend of $0.416 per share. This represents a $1.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.61%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, June 18th. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio is 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.