Bogart Wealth LLC Raises Stake in Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Bogart Wealth LLC increased its position in shares of Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM - Free Report) by 10.5% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 46,500 shares of the CRM provider's stock after purchasing an additional 4,433 shares during the quarter. Bogart Wealth LLC's holdings in Salesforce were worth $12,479,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Millstone Evans Group LLC purchased a new position in Salesforce in the fourth quarter worth approximately $823,000. Heartland Bank & Trust Co lifted its stake in shares of Salesforce by 117.2% in the 1st quarter. Heartland Bank & Trust Co now owns 5,981 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $1,605,000 after purchasing an additional 3,227 shares during the last quarter. Elwood Capital Partners LP purchased a new position in shares of Salesforce during the 4th quarter worth $1,337,000. Strategic Blueprint LLC increased its position in shares of Salesforce by 13.5% during the first quarter. Strategic Blueprint LLC now owns 23,828 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $6,394,000 after acquiring an additional 2,837 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bestgate Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Salesforce in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $441,000. 80.43% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Salesforce

In related news, insider R David Schmaier sold 6,959 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $253.31, for a total value of $1,762,784.29. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 36,090 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $9,141,957.90. This represents a 16.17% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Marc Benioff sold 2,250 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $272.48, for a total transaction of $613,080.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 11,862,457 shares in the company, valued at $3,232,282,283.36. This represents a 0.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 35,284 shares of company stock valued at $9,444,537. Company insiders own 3.20% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CRM has been the topic of several research reports. Guggenheim raised Salesforce from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, April 21st. Barclays reduced their target price on shares of Salesforce from $425.00 to $347.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 29th. Erste Group Bank downgraded shares of Salesforce from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, June 5th. Mizuho decreased their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $425.00 to $380.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 15th. Finally, Northland Securities lowered their target price on shares of Salesforce from $423.00 to $396.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 29th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, twenty-seven have assigned a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $348.16.

Salesforce Price Performance

CRM stock traded up $1.38 on Monday, reaching $259.45. 6,529,578 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 7,259,348. The firm has a market cap of $248.03 billion, a PE ratio of 40.60, a P/E/G ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 1.36. Salesforce Inc. has a twelve month low of $230.00 and a twelve month high of $369.00. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $272.09 and a 200-day moving average of $288.49. The company has a quick ratio of 1.07, a current ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 28th. The CRM provider reported $2.58 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.55 by $0.03. Salesforce had a net margin of 16.08% and a return on equity of 12.94%. The firm had revenue of $9.83 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.74 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.44 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 7.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts predict that Salesforce Inc. will post 7.46 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Cuts Dividend

The company 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. This represents a $1.66 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.64%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, June 18th. Salesforce's payout ratio is currently 25.98%.

About Salesforce

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.