Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM) Shares Purchased by Ridgewood Investments LLC

Ridgewood Investments LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 23.0% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,255 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 235 shares during the quarter. Ridgewood Investments LLC’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $337,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in CRM. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. acquired a new stake in shares of Salesforce during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Accredited Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Salesforce during the fourth quarter valued at $27,000. Capital A Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 450.0% during the first quarter. Capital A Wealth Management LLC now owns 110 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 90 shares during the period. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC lifted its position in shares of Salesforce by 314.8% in the 1st quarter. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 112 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 85 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Abound Financial LLC bought a new position in shares of Salesforce in the 1st quarter worth about $31,000. 80.43% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Marc Benioff sold 2,250 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $266.56, for a total value of $599,760.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 11,911,571 shares in the company, valued at $3,175,148,365.76. This represents a 0.02% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In the last three months, insiders sold 33,479 shares of company stock worth $9,091,796. Company insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CRM has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market outperform” rating and set a $430.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Friday, July 11th. Erste Group Bank lowered Salesforce from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, June 5th. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and set a $275.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Monday, July 14th. Guggenheim upgraded Salesforce from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, April 21st. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group dropped their target price on Salesforce from $400.00 to $350.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, May 28th. Three equities 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 given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Salesforce presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $348.16.

Salesforce Stock Performance

Salesforce stock opened at $269.11 on Monday. 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 company has a market cap of $257.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 42.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.36. Salesforce Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $230.00 and a fifty-two week high of $369.00. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $268.07 and its 200-day simple moving average is $283.68.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 28th. The CRM provider reported $2.58 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.74 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.44 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 7.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Salesforce Inc. will post 7.46 EPS for the current year.

Salesforce Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 10th. Investors of record on Wednesday, June 18th were paid a $0.416 dividend. This represents a $1.66 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.62%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, June 18th. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio is currently 25.98%.

Salesforce Company 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.