Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC Cuts Stake in Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC cut its stake in shares of Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM - Free Report) by 60.2% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 490,794 shares of the CRM provider's stock after selling 742,128 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC owned approximately 0.05% of Salesforce worth $132,613,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. purchased a new stake in Salesforce during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Accredited Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Salesforce during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Salesforce during the 4th quarter worth approximately $35,000. Wood Tarver Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Salesforce during the 4th quarter worth approximately $35,000. Finally, VSM Wealth Advisory LLC purchased a new position in shares of Salesforce during the 4th quarter worth approximately $45,000. 80.43% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Salesforce

In related news, insider R David Schmaier sold 6,959 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $253.31, for a total value of $1,762,784.29. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 36,090 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,141,957.90. This trade represents a 16.17% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Brian Millham sold 979 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $253.66, for a total value of $248,333.14. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 6,487 shares in the company, valued at $1,645,492.42. The trade was a 13.11% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 26,284 shares of company stock worth $6,996,762 over the last quarter. 3.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on CRM. Westpark Capital reissued a "buy" rating and set a $320.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Wednesday, May 28th. Needham & Company LLC reissued a "buy" rating and set a $400.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Wednesday, May 28th. Morgan Stanley reissued an "overweight" rating and set a $404.00 target price (up from $393.00) on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Thursday, May 29th. Jefferies Financial Group cut their target price on Salesforce from $425.00 to $375.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, March 31st. Finally, Erste Group Bank downgraded Salesforce from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, June 5th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, twenty-eight have assigned a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Salesforce currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $349.08.

Salesforce Trading Up 0.7%

CRM traded up $1.98 during trading on Friday, hitting $272.72. The company's stock had a trading volume of 21,736,713 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,529,239. Salesforce Inc. has a twelve month low of $230.00 and a twelve month high of $369.00. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $270.38 and its 200-day moving average price is $294.25. 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 stock has a market cap of $260.72 billion, a PE ratio of 42.68, a PEG ratio of 2.48 and a beta of 1.38.

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, topping 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $9.74 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.44 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 7.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect 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. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, June 18th will be issued a dividend of $0.416 per share. This represents a $1.66 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.61%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, June 18th. Salesforce's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 25.98%.

Salesforce 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.