Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) Stake Boosted by Brighton Jones LLC

Brighton Jones LLC raised its stake in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM - Free Report) by 7.9% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 27,700 shares of the CRM provider's stock after acquiring an additional 2,032 shares during the quarter. Brighton Jones LLC's holdings in Salesforce were worth $7,434,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Athena Investment Management purchased a new position in shares of Salesforce during the 4th quarter worth $236,000. Jag Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Salesforce by 2,507.9% during the fourth quarter. Jag Capital Management LLC now owns 23,706 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $7,926,000 after buying an additional 22,797 shares during the period. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp lifted its position in Salesforce by 2.7% during the fourth quarter. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp now owns 27,358 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $9,146,000 after buying an additional 723 shares during the period. Dash Acquisitions Inc. boosted its stake in Salesforce by 2.6% in the 4th quarter. Dash Acquisitions Inc. now owns 60,521 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $21,785,000 after buying an additional 1,525 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Millstone Evans Group LLC purchased a new stake in Salesforce in the 4th quarter valued at about $823,000. 80.43% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Salesforce

In other Salesforce news, CEO Brian Millham sold 3,937 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction on Monday, March 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $284.58, for a total value of $1,120,391.46. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 5,518 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,570,312.44. The trade was a 41.64% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, May 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $275.00, for a total transaction of $137,500.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 11,711 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,220,525. The trade was a 4.09% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 40,332 shares of company stock valued at $11,024,802 over the last three months. 3.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Salesforce Stock Down 3.2%

Shares of Salesforce stock traded down $8.66 on Friday, hitting $258.25. 7,647,008 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 6,536,741. Salesforce, Inc. has a 52-week low of $227.77 and a 52-week high of $369.00. The company has a quick ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. The stock has a market cap of $246.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 42.48, a PEG ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 1.38. The firm's 50-day moving average is $268.09 and its 200 day moving average is $299.93.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 28th. The CRM provider reported $2.58 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.55 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $9.83 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.74 billion. Salesforce had a net margin of 15.96% and a return on equity of 12.34%. The firm's revenue was up 7.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.44 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.46 earnings per share for the current year.

Salesforce Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 10th. Investors of record on Wednesday, June 18th will be paid a $0.416 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, June 18th. This represents a $1.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.64%. Salesforce's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 25.98%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CRM has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Salesforce from $255.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 29th. Oppenheimer reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $370.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a report on Tuesday, June 10th. Royal Bank of Canada downgraded Salesforce from an "outperform" rating to a "sector perform" rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $420.00 to $275.00 in a report on Thursday, May 29th. Redburn Atlantic began coverage on Salesforce in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. They issued a "buy" rating on the stock. Finally, Barclays lowered their price target on Salesforce from $425.00 to $347.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 29th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating, twenty-seven have assigned a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Salesforce has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $346.34.

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.