Brookstone Capital Management Decreases Stock Holdings in Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Brookstone Capital Management cut its holdings in shares of Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM - Free Report) by 20.0% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 45,731 shares of the CRM provider's stock after selling 11,436 shares during the period. Brookstone Capital Management's holdings in Salesforce were worth $12,272,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp increased its stake in shares of Salesforce by 2.7% in the fourth quarter. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp now owns 27,358 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $9,146,000 after buying an additional 723 shares during the period. Millstone Evans Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Salesforce during the 4th quarter worth about $823,000. Heartland Bank & Trust Co boosted its position in shares of Salesforce by 117.2% during the 1st quarter. Heartland Bank & Trust Co now owns 5,981 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $1,605,000 after purchasing an additional 3,227 shares in the last quarter. Catalyst Funds Management Pty Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Salesforce in the 4th quarter valued at about $5,249,000. Finally, Elwood Capital Partners LP bought a new stake in Salesforce in the 4th quarter valued at about $1,337,000. 80.43% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Salesforce Price Performance

Salesforce stock traded up $2.37 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $271.58. 5,031,804 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,543,873. The company's fifty day moving average is $272.28 and its 200-day moving average is $291.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a current ratio of 1.07. Salesforce Inc. has a 52 week low of $230.00 and a 52 week high of $369.00. The firm has a market cap of $259.63 billion, a PE ratio of 42.50, a PEG ratio of 2.47 and a beta of 1.36.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 28th. The CRM provider reported $2.58 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.55 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $9.83 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $9.74 billion. Salesforce had a net margin of 16.08% and a return on equity of 12.94%. Salesforce's revenue for the quarter was up 7.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.44 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Salesforce Inc. will post 7.46 EPS for the current year.

Salesforce Cuts Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 10th. Investors of record on Wednesday, June 18th will be given a $0.416 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, June 18th. This represents a $1.66 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.61%. Salesforce's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 25.98%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Salesforce news, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 1,525 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $253.66, for a total transaction of $386,831.50. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Parker Harris sold 1,142 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, June 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $262.35, for a total transaction of $299,603.70. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 136,824 shares in the company, valued at approximately $35,895,776.40. This represents a 0.83% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 28,534 shares of company stock valued at $7,609,842 in the last three months. 3.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have commented on CRM. Erste Group Bank cut Salesforce from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, June 5th. Oppenheimer reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $370.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Tuesday, June 10th. Needham & Company LLC restated a "buy" rating and set a $400.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a report on Wednesday, May 28th. Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $425.00 to $347.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 29th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lowered their target price on shares of Salesforce from $425.00 to $375.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, March 31st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, twenty-eight have assigned a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $349.08.

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.