626 Financial LLC Has $1.27 Million Position in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

626 Financial LLC boosted its holdings in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM - Free Report) by 127.1% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 4,736 shares of the CRM provider's stock after buying an additional 2,651 shares during the period. Salesforce makes up about 0.7% of 626 Financial LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 26th biggest position. 626 Financial LLC's holdings in Salesforce were worth $1,271,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of CRM. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Salesforce in the fourth quarter worth $3,599,867,000. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main raised its holdings in Salesforce by 926.4% in the fourth quarter. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main now owns 4,256,211 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $1,422,979,000 after purchasing an additional 3,841,521 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in Salesforce by 30,456.9% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,801,588 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $1,020,194,000 after purchasing an additional 3,789,147 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in Salesforce in the fourth quarter worth $1,173,564,000. Finally, Invesco Ltd. raised its holdings in Salesforce by 42.5% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 7,791,015 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $2,604,770,000 after purchasing an additional 2,325,156 shares during the period. 80.43% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently commented on CRM. Robert W. Baird dropped their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $430.00 to $400.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Needham & Company LLC restated a "buy" rating and set a $400.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a report on Wednesday, May 28th. Oppenheimer restated an "outperform" rating and set a $370.00 price objective (down from $380.00) on shares of Salesforce in a report on Thursday, May 29th. Barclays dropped their price objective 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. Finally, Northland Securities dropped their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $423.00 to $396.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 29th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued 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.com, Salesforce presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $346.34.

Salesforce Stock Performance

Shares of CRM stock traded up $7.34 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $274.48. 7,500,949 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,591,171. The firm has a market capitalization of $262.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 45.14, a PEG ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 1.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a current ratio of 1.11. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $266.48 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $302.92. Salesforce, Inc. has a 52 week low of $227.77 and a 52 week high of $369.00.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 28th. The CRM provider reported $2.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.55 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $9.83 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.74 billion. Salesforce had a net margin of 15.96% and a return on equity of 12.34%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 7.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.44 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.46 earnings per share for the current year.

Salesforce Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 10th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, June 18th will be issued a $0.416 dividend. This represents a $1.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.61%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, June 18th. Salesforce's dividend payout ratio is currently 25.98%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Salesforce

In other Salesforce news, insider R David Schmaier sold 6,959 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $253.31, for a total value of $1,762,784.29. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 36,090 shares of the company's stock, valued at $9,141,957.90. The trade was a 16.17% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Miguel Milano sold 705 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $279.44, for a total transaction of $197,005.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 9,323 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,605,219.12. The trade was a 7.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 40,332 shares of company stock valued at $11,024,802 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 3.20% of the company's stock.

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.