Arcataur Capital Management LLC Cuts Stock Position in Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Arcataur Capital Management LLC lessened its stake in shares of Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 7.0% in the first quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 1,715 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after selling 130 shares during the period. Arcataur Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $460,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Seven Mile Advisory lifted its position in Salesforce by 2.3% in the 4th quarter. Seven Mile Advisory now owns 1,762 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $589,000 after acquiring an additional 39 shares in the last quarter. Liberty One Investment Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Salesforce by 1.2% in the first quarter. Liberty One Investment Management LLC now owns 3,165 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $849,000 after purchasing an additional 39 shares during the last quarter. First Command Advisory Services Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 7.3% during the first quarter. First Command Advisory Services Inc. now owns 572 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $154,000 after purchasing an additional 39 shares in the last quarter. Mendel Money Management lifted its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 3.6% during the first quarter. Mendel Money Management now owns 1,112 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $298,000 after purchasing an additional 39 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Clarity Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Salesforce by 2.3% during the first quarter. Clarity Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,760 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $472,000 after buying an additional 40 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.43% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. Erste Group Bank cut shares of Salesforce from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 5th. Sanford C. Bernstein boosted 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. Barclays dropped their target price on shares of Salesforce from $425.00 to $347.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 29th. UBS Group set a $404.00 target price on shares of Salesforce and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 18th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating and set a $400.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a report on Wednesday, May 28th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, twenty-seven have given a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $348.16.

Insider Buying and Selling at Salesforce

In related news, CEO Marc Benioff sold 2,250 shares of Salesforce 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 11,911,571 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,175,148,365.76. This trade represents a 0.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 33,479 shares of company stock valued at $9,091,796. Insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

Salesforce Stock Performance

NYSE CRM 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. Salesforce Inc. has a 1-year low of $230.00 and a 1-year high of $369.00. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $268.07 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $283.68. The stock has a market capitalization of $257.27 billion, a PE ratio of 42.11, a P/E/G ratio of 2.44 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. Salesforce had a return on equity of 12.94% and a net margin of 16.08%. The firm had revenue of $9.83 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.74 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.44 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 7.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts predict that Salesforce Inc. will post 7.46 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 10th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, June 18th were issued a $0.416 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, June 18th. This represents a $1.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.62%. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.