Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM) Shares Purchased by Atria Investments Inc

Atria Investments Inc grew its stake in Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM - Free Report) by 9.9% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 97,254 shares of the CRM provider's stock after acquiring an additional 8,726 shares during the period. Atria Investments Inc's holdings in Salesforce were worth $26,099,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. bought a new position in shares of Salesforce in the 4th quarter worth $25,000. Accredited Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Salesforce during the fourth quarter valued at about $27,000. Wood Tarver Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Salesforce during the fourth quarter valued at about $35,000. Capital A Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 450.0% in the 1st 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 in the last quarter. Finally, CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC grew its position in shares of 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 buying an additional 85 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.43% of the company's stock.

Salesforce Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:CRM traded up $1.41 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $269.11. The stock had a trading volume of 4,013,320 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,704,325. Salesforce Inc. has a 1 year low of $230.00 and a 1 year 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 50 day moving average price of $268.07 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $284.27. The company has a market capitalization of $257.27 billion, a PE ratio of 42.11, a P/E/G ratio of 2.43 and a beta of 1.36.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 28th. The CRM provider reported $2.58 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.55 by $0.03. The company 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 firm'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 company earned $2.44 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Salesforce Inc. will post 7.46 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Cuts Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 10th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, June 18th were given a dividend of $0.416 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, June 18th. This represents a $1.66 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.62%. Salesforce's payout ratio is currently 25.98%.

Insider Transactions at Salesforce

In related news, insider Srinivas Tallapragada sold 6,697 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $295.00, for a total value of $1,975,615.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 41,422 shares in the company, valued at $12,219,490. This represents a 13.92% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Marc Benioff sold 2,250 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $271.69, for a total value of $611,302.50. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 11,862,457 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,222,910,942.33. This represents a 0.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 33,479 shares of company stock valued at $9,091,796. 3.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently commented on CRM. Northland Securities decreased their price objective on Salesforce from $423.00 to $396.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 29th. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price target on Salesforce from $350.00 to $335.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 10th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $340.00 to $385.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, May 29th. Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their target price on shares of Salesforce from $243.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock an "underperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 29th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reissued an "overweight" rating and set a $404.00 target price (up previously from $393.00) on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Thursday, May 29th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, twenty-seven have issued a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Salesforce presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $348.16.

Salesforce Company 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.