Calton & Associates Inc. Invests $6.05 Million in Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Calton & Associates Inc. acquired a new position in Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 22,529 shares of the CRM provider’s stock, valued at approximately $6,046,000. Salesforce accounts for approximately 0.7% of Calton & Associates Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 23rd largest holding.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Salesforce by 0.9% in the 4th 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. Northern Trust Corp raised its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 18.3% in the fourth 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 purchased a new stake in shares of Salesforce in the fourth quarter worth approximately $3,599,867,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its holdings 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 buying an additional 1,683,233 shares during the period. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 7.5% in the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 8,658,132 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $2,894,673,000 after buying an additional 602,445 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 80.43% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Miguel Milano sold 405 shares of the business’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 $106,251.75. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 9,933 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,605,922.55. The trade was a 3.92% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 261 shares of the business’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 directly owned 12,024 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,154,496.40. This represents a 2.12% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 33,819 shares of company stock valued at $9,111,823 over the last quarter. Insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

Salesforce Stock Up 1.0%

Shares of Salesforce stock traded up $2.52 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $262.40. 6,376,432 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,555,507. Salesforce Inc. has a 1 year low of $230.00 and a 1 year high of $369.00. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $270.45 and its 200 day moving average is $286.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a current ratio of 1.07. The firm has a market cap of $250.85 billion, a PE ratio of 41.06, a PEG ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 1.36.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, May 28th. The CRM provider reported $2.58 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.55 by $0.03. Salesforce had a return on equity of 12.94% and a net margin of 16.08%. The business had revenue of $9.83 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.74 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.44 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 7.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Salesforce Inc. will post 7.46 earnings per share for the current year.

Salesforce Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 10th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, June 18th were paid a $0.416 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, June 18th. This represents a $1.66 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.63%. Salesforce’s payout ratio is currently 25.98%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Stephens reduced their price target on Salesforce from $311.00 to $309.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 30th. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $275.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a report on Monday, July 14th. Northland Securities cut their price target on Salesforce from $423.00 to $396.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 29th. Cantor Fitzgerald downgraded Salesforce from an “overweight” rating to a “cautious” rating in a report on Thursday, July 10th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on Salesforce from $340.00 to $385.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 29th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, twenty-seven have assigned a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average 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.