American Alpha Advisors LLC Takes $406,000 Position in Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Key Points

• American Alpha Advisors LLC has purchased a stake of 1,512 shares in Salesforce Inc., valued at approximately $406,000, indicating institutional interest in the company.
• CEO Marc Benioff sold 2,250 shares of Salesforce stock, reducing his position slightly, while insiders have collectively sold 46,479 shares in the last three months.
• Salesforce's stock is currently down 0.3% and analysts have mixed ratings, with an average price target of $348.16, suggesting potential upside for investors.

American Alpha Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 1,512 shares of the CRM provider's stock, valued at approximately $406,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. bought a new stake in shares of Salesforce in the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Accredited Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Salesforce in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Capital A Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Salesforce by 450.0% in the first quarter. Capital A Wealth Management LLC now owns 110 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 90 shares during the last quarter. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC boosted its stake in shares of Salesforce by 314.8% during 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 during the period. Finally, Abound Financial LLC acquired a new position in shares of Salesforce during the 1st quarter worth approximately $31,000. 80.43% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Salesforce Price Performance

NYSE:CRM traded down $1.28 on Tuesday, hitting $231.40. The company had a trading volume of 13,176,549 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,166,282. Salesforce Inc. has a 52 week low of $226.48 and a 52 week high of $369.00. The company has a current ratio of 1.07, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. The stock has a market capitalization of $221.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.21, a PEG ratio of 2.18 and a beta of 1.37. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $262.89 and a two-hundred day moving average of $278.04.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly 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 company had revenue of $9.83 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $9.74 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.44 EPS. Salesforce's revenue was up 7.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, 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 was paid on Thursday, July 10th. Investors of record on Wednesday, June 18th were paid a $0.416 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, June 18th. This represents a $1.66 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.7%. Salesforce's payout ratio is currently 25.98%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Marc Benioff sold 2,250 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $236.45, for a total value of $532,012.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 11,911,571 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,816,490,962.95. This represents a 0.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders sold 50,979 shares of company stock valued at $13,530,369 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 3.00% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have commented on CRM. Canaccord Genuity Group reduced their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $400.00 to $350.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, May 28th. Barclays reduced their target price on shares of Salesforce from $425.00 to $347.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 29th. Mizuho lowered their price target on shares of Salesforce from $425.00 to $380.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 15th. Cantor Fitzgerald downgraded shares of Salesforce from an "overweight" rating to a "cautious" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. Finally, DA Davidson reaffirmed an "underperform" rating and issued a $200.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Wednesday, May 28th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, twenty-seven have given a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $348.16.

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.