Avantax Advisory Services Inc. Has $22.53 Million Holdings in Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Key Points

• Avantax Advisory Services Inc. increased its holdings in Salesforce Inc. by 2.7% in Q1, now owning 83,944 shares valued at approximately $22.53 million.
• Salesforce reported a quarterly earnings per share of $2.58, exceeding the consensus estimate, and a revenue of $9.83 billion.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.416 per share, with a yield of 0.62% and a dividend payout ratio of 25.98%.

Avantax Advisory Services Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM - Free Report) by 2.7% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 83,944 shares of the CRM provider's stock after buying an additional 2,187 shares during the quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc.'s holdings in Salesforce were worth $22,527,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Brookwood Investment Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Salesforce during the 1st quarter valued at about $537,000. Morling Financial Advisors LLC boosted its position in Salesforce by 25.8% during the first quarter. Morling Financial Advisors LLC now owns 1,685 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $452,000 after purchasing an additional 346 shares during the period. Jackson Hole Capital Partners LLC grew its holdings in Salesforce by 1.4% during the first quarter. Jackson Hole Capital Partners LLC now owns 14,000 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $3,757,000 after purchasing an additional 193 shares during the last quarter. Atria Investments Inc raised its position in shares of Salesforce by 9.9% in the first quarter. Atria Investments Inc now owns 97,254 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $26,099,000 after purchasing an additional 8,726 shares during the period. Finally, Princeton Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Salesforce in the first quarter worth $1,454,000. 80.43% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Salesforce Price Performance

CRM opened at $269.11 on Friday. 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 company's 50 day simple moving average is $268.07 and its 200-day simple moving average is $284.27. Salesforce Inc. has a one year low of $230.00 and a one year high of $369.00. The stock has a market capitalization of $257.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 42.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.43 and a beta of 1.36.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 28th. The CRM provider reported $2.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.55 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $9.83 billion during 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%. Salesforce's quarterly revenue was up 7.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.44 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Salesforce Inc. will post 7.46 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 10th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, June 18th were issued a dividend of $0.416 per share. This represents a $1.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.62%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, June 18th. Salesforce's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 25.98%.

Insider Transactions at Salesforce

In other Salesforce news, insider Srinivas Tallapragada sold 6,697 shares of the business'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 approximately $12,219,490. The trade was a 13.92% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Marc Benioff sold 2,250 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $271.69, for a total transaction of $611,302.50. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 11,862,457 shares of the company's stock, valued at $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. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 33,479 shares of company stock valued at $9,091,796. Corporate insiders own 3.20% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently commented on CRM. JMP Securities reiterated a "market outperform" rating and issued a $430.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a report on Friday, July 11th. UBS Group set a $404.00 price target on Salesforce and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 18th. Stephens dropped their price objective on Salesforce from $311.00 to $309.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 30th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Salesforce from $255.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 29th. Finally, Guggenheim raised Salesforce from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, April 21st. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, twenty-seven have given a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently 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.

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