Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM) Shares Sold by Bank of New York Mellon Corp

Bank of New York Mellon Corp trimmed its holdings in shares of Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM - Free Report) by 2.5% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 6,193,339 shares of the CRM provider's stock after selling 160,318 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp owned approximately 0.64% of Salesforce worth $1,662,044,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. purchased a new position in shares of Salesforce in the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. Accredited Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Salesforce in the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Wood Tarver Financial Group LLC bought a new position in Salesforce in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $35,000. VSM Wealth Advisory LLC purchased a new stake in Salesforce during the 4th quarter valued at $45,000. Finally, Vermillion Wealth Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 138.9% in the 1st quarter. Vermillion Wealth Management Inc. now owns 172 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $46,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. 80.43% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Salesforce Stock Up 0.9%

NYSE:CRM traded up $2.37 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $271.58. The company's stock had a trading volume of 5,031,804 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,543,799. The company has a quick ratio of 1.07, a current ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $272.28 and a 200-day moving average of $291.78. Salesforce Inc. has a 1 year low of $230.00 and a 1 year high of $369.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $259.63 billion, a PE ratio of 42.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.47 and a beta of 1.36.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, May 28th. The CRM provider reported $2.58 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 analyst estimates of $9.74 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.44 earnings per share. Salesforce's revenue was up 7.6% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that Salesforce Inc. will post 7.46 earnings per share for the current year.

Salesforce Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 10th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, June 18th will be given a $0.416 dividend. This represents a $1.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.61%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, June 18th. Salesforce's payout ratio is currently 25.98%.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Srinivas Tallapragada sold 6,697 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $295.00, for a total transaction of $1,975,615.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 41,422 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,219,490. This represents a 13.92% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 1,525 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $253.66, for a total value of $386,831.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 12,211 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,097,442.26. This trade represents a 11.10% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 28,534 shares of company stock worth $7,609,842 over the last 90 days. 3.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on CRM shares. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $255.00 to $275.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, May 29th. Canaccord Genuity Group lowered their target price on shares of Salesforce from $400.00 to $350.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, May 28th. Erste Group Bank cut Salesforce from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, June 5th. Sanford C. Bernstein upped their price target on Salesforce from $243.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock an "underperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 29th. Finally, UBS Group set a $404.00 price target on shares of Salesforce and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 18th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, twenty-eight have issued a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $349.08.

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.