Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. Sells 4,933 Shares of Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. lessened its holdings in shares of Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 13.3% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 32,287 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after selling 4,933 shares during the quarter. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD.’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $8,665,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Millstone Evans Group LLC bought a new position in Salesforce during the 4th quarter worth $823,000. Heartland Bank & Trust Co boosted its stake in shares of Salesforce by 117.2% in the 1st quarter. Heartland Bank & Trust Co now owns 5,981 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $1,605,000 after buying an additional 3,227 shares during the last quarter. Catalyst Funds Management Pty Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Salesforce in the 4th quarter worth approximately $5,249,000. Elwood Capital Partners LP bought a new stake in shares of Salesforce in the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,337,000. Finally, Bestgate Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Salesforce in the 4th quarter worth approximately $441,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.43% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Parker Harris sold 1,142 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $262.35, for a total value of $299,603.70. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 136,824 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $35,895,776.40. This represents a 0.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider R David Schmaier sold 6,959 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $253.31, for a total transaction of $1,762,784.29. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 36,090 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,141,957.90. The trade was a 16.17% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 33,034 shares of company stock valued at $8,833,235 over the last quarter. 3.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on CRM shares. UBS Group set a $404.00 target price on shares of Salesforce and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 18th. Scotiabank reduced their price target on shares of Salesforce from $400.00 to $345.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, March 17th. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price target on shares of Salesforce from $425.00 to $375.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, March 31st. Canaccord Genuity Group reduced their price target on shares of Salesforce from $400.00 to $350.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, May 28th. Finally, Piper Sandler boosted their price target on shares of Salesforce from $315.00 to $335.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 28th. Two equities 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 assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $349.08.

Salesforce Stock Performance

Salesforce stock opened at $273.77 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.07, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $272.48 and a 200-day moving average of $290.51. The firm has a market cap of $261.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 42.84, a P/E/G ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 1.36. Salesforce Inc. has a 1-year low of $230.00 and a 1-year 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 analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.55 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $9.83 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.74 billion. Salesforce had a net margin of 16.08% and a return on equity of 12.94%. Salesforce’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.44 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that Salesforce Inc. will post 7.46 EPS for the current year.

Salesforce Cuts Dividend

The business 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 0.61%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, June 18th. Salesforce’s payout ratio is currently 25.98%.

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.