Altfest L J & Co. Inc. Sells 1,129 Shares of Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Key Points

• Altfest L J & Co. Inc. reduced its stake in Salesforce by 56.8%, selling 1,129 shares in the first quarter, leaving it with 860 shares valued at approximately $231,000.
• Salesforce reported a 7.6% annual revenue increase with earnings of $2.58 per share, exceeding analysts' estimates of $2.55.
• Insiders, including CEO Marc Benioff, have sold significant shares recently, indicating potential shifts in ownership and investor sentiment.

Altfest L J & Co. Inc. reduced its stake in shares of Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM - Free Report) by 56.8% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 860 shares of the CRM provider's stock after selling 1,129 shares during the quarter. Altfest L J & Co. Inc.'s holdings in Salesforce were worth $231,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Notis McConarty Edward lifted its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 71.6% in the first quarter. Notis McConarty Edward now owns 3,844 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $1,032,000 after buying an additional 1,604 shares during the period. Alecta Tjanstepension Omsesidigt lifted its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 121.9% in the first quarter. Alecta Tjanstepension Omsesidigt now owns 355,000 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $95,222,000 after buying an additional 195,000 shares during the period. Delaney Dennis R lifted its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 66.1% during the first quarter. Delaney Dennis R now owns 5,694 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $1,528,000 after purchasing an additional 2,266 shares during the last quarter. Journey Strategic Wealth LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 34.5% during the first quarter. Journey Strategic Wealth LLC now owns 4,948 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $1,328,000 after purchasing an additional 1,270 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mathes Company Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 396.9% during the first quarter. Mathes Company Inc. now owns 12,298 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $3,300,000 after purchasing an additional 9,823 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.43% of the company's stock.

Salesforce Stock Performance

NYSE:CRM traded down $0.79 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $240.09. 8,807,591 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,971,969. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $263.47 and a two-hundred day moving average of $279.14. Salesforce Inc. has a 12 month low of $230.00 and a 12 month high of $369.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $229.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.18 and a beta of 1.37. The company has a current ratio of 1.07, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, May 28th. The CRM provider reported $2.58 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 firm had revenue of $9.83 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.74 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.44 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 7.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts forecast that Salesforce Inc. will post 7.46 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 10th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, June 18th were given a $0.416 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, June 18th. This represents a $1.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.7%. Salesforce's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 25.98%.

Insider Activity at Salesforce

In other Salesforce news, CEO Marc Benioff sold 2,250 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $248.40, for a total value of $558,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 11,911,571 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,958,834,236.40. This trade represents a 0.02% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 46,479 shares of company stock valued at $12,457,591. 3.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently issued reports on CRM. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price objective on Salesforce from $350.00 to $335.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. Westpark Capital reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $320.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Wednesday, May 28th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on Salesforce from $340.00 to $385.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 29th. Sanford C. Bernstein upped their target price on Salesforce from $243.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock an "underperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 29th. Finally, JMP Securities reaffirmed a "market outperform" rating and issued a $430.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Friday, July 11th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, twenty-seven have issued a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price 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.