Ballentine Partners LLC Boosts Stock Holdings in Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Ballentine Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 4.3% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 20,611 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 851 shares during the quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $5,531,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. purchased a new stake in Salesforce in the 4th quarter worth $25,000. Accredited Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Salesforce in the 4th quarter worth $27,000. Abound Financial LLC purchased a new stake in Salesforce in the 1st quarter worth $31,000. Wood Tarver Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in Salesforce in the 4th quarter worth $35,000. Finally, VSM Wealth Advisory LLC purchased a new stake in Salesforce in the 4th quarter worth $45,000. 80.43% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Salesforce Trading Down 2.2%

NYSE CRM opened at $258.23 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $272.09 and its two-hundred day moving average is $289.24. Salesforce Inc. has a 12 month low of $230.00 and a 12 month 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 stock has a market capitalization of $246.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.41, a PEG ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 1.36.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last posted 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 company had revenue of $9.83 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.44 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Salesforce Inc. will post 7.46 earnings per share for the current year.

Salesforce Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 10th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, June 18th were paid a dividend of $0.416 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, June 18th. This represents a $1.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.64%. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 25.98%.

Insider Activity at Salesforce

In related news, insider Srinivas Tallapragada sold 1,269 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $262.35, for a total transaction of $332,922.15. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 42,678 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,196,573.30. This represents a 2.89% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 261 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $262.35, for a total transaction of $68,473.35. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 12,024 shares in the company, valued at $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. Over the last three months, insiders sold 35,284 shares of company stock valued at $9,444,537. 3.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CRM has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Salesforce from $255.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, May 29th. Erste Group Bank lowered shares of Salesforce from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, June 5th. DA Davidson reissued an “underperform” rating and issued a $200.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a report on Wednesday, May 28th. Macquarie reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $320.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $400.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Wednesday, May 28th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, twenty-seven have assigned a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $348.16.

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.