Bessemer Group Inc. Sells 29,388 Shares of Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Bessemer Group Inc. reduced its stake in Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM - Free Report) by 48.4% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 31,334 shares of the CRM provider's stock after selling 29,388 shares during the period. Bessemer Group Inc.'s holdings in Salesforce were worth $8,409,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. bought a new stake in Salesforce during the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Accredited Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Salesforce in the fourth quarter valued at $27,000. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Salesforce in the fourth quarter valued at $35,000. Wood Tarver Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in Salesforce in the fourth quarter valued at $35,000. Finally, VSM Wealth Advisory LLC acquired a new stake in Salesforce during the 4th quarter worth about $45,000. 80.43% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Salesforce

In other Salesforce news, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 261 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, June 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $262.35, for a total value of $68,473.35. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 12,024 shares in the company, valued at $3,154,496.40. The trade was a 2.12% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Oscar Munoz purchased 3,882 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 3rd. The stock was bought at an average price of $257.28 per share, for a total transaction of $998,760.96. Following the purchase, the director now owns 11,843 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,046,967.04. This represents a 48.76% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have sold 26,284 shares of company stock worth $6,996,762 in the last 90 days. 3.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Salesforce Price Performance

Shares of CRM opened at $270.50 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $258.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 42.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.43 and a beta of 1.38. 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 firm has a 50 day moving average of $269.86 and a 200 day moving average of $295.19. Salesforce Inc. has a twelve month low of $230.00 and a twelve month high of $369.00.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly 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. The company had revenue of $9.83 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.74 billion. Salesforce had a net margin of 16.08% and a return on equity of 12.94%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 7.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.44 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Salesforce Inc. will post 7.46 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 10th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, June 18th will be paid a dividend of $0.416 per share. This represents a $1.66 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.62%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, June 18th. Salesforce's dividend payout ratio is presently 25.98%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have weighed in on CRM. Bank of America decreased their price target on Salesforce from $440.00 to $400.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Westpark Capital reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $320.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Wednesday, May 28th. DA Davidson restated an "underperform" rating and set a $200.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Wednesday, May 28th. Royal Bank Of Canada cut shares of Salesforce from an "outperform" rating to a "sector perform" rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $420.00 to $275.00 in a report on Thursday, May 29th. Finally, Scotiabank reduced their target price on Salesforce from $400.00 to $345.00 and set a "sector outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 17th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, twenty-eight have given a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus 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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.