Cove Private Wealth LLC Grows Stock Position in Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Cove Private Wealth LLC grew its holdings in shares of Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 4.0% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 6,982 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 270 shares during the quarter. Salesforce makes up approximately 1.0% of Cove Private Wealth LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 27th biggest position. Cove Private Wealth LLC’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $1,874,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. purchased a new stake in Salesforce in the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Accredited Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Salesforce in the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Capital A Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in Salesforce by 450.0% in the 1st quarter. Capital A Wealth Management LLC now owns 110 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 90 shares in the last quarter. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC increased its holdings in 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 acquiring an additional 85 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Abound Financial LLC bought a new position in Salesforce in the 1st quarter worth approximately $31,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.43% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Salesforce

In other news, insider Srinivas Tallapragada sold 6,697 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $295.00, for a total transaction of $1,975,615.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 41,422 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,219,490. This trade represents a 13.92% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Marc Benioff sold 2,250 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $259.67, for a total value of $584,257.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 11,955,566 shares in the company, valued at $3,104,501,823.22. This trade represents a 0.02% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 46,479 shares of company stock worth $12,457,591. Insiders own 3.00% of the company’s stock.

Salesforce Stock Performance

CRM stock opened at $240.09 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $229.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.57, a PEG ratio of 2.18 and a beta of 1.37. The company has a quick ratio of 1.07, a current ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. Salesforce Inc. has a twelve month low of $230.00 and a twelve month high of $369.00. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $263.47 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $278.75.

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

Salesforce Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 10th. Stockholders 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.7%. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 25.98%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have weighed in on CRM shares. Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and issued a $400.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Wednesday, May 28th. Barclays dropped their price target on Salesforce from $425.00 to $347.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 29th. Guggenheim upgraded Salesforce from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, April 21st. Morgan Stanley restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $404.00 price target (up from $393.00) on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Thursday, May 29th. Finally, Stephens dropped their price target on Salesforce from $311.00 to $309.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 30th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, twenty-seven have given a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Salesforce currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target 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.