Brown Advisory Inc. Sells 2,472 Shares of Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Brown Advisory Inc. trimmed its holdings in shares of Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM - Free Report) by 1.7% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 143,348 shares of the CRM provider's stock after selling 2,472 shares during the period. Brown Advisory Inc.'s holdings in Salesforce were worth $38,469,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its stake in shares of Salesforce by 13.7% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 25,668 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $8,582,000 after acquiring an additional 3,102 shares in the last quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC raised its holdings in Salesforce by 12.6% in the 4th quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 1,827 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $611,000 after acquiring an additional 205 shares in the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC raised its holdings in Salesforce by 70.4% in the 4th quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 2,791 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $933,000 after acquiring an additional 1,153 shares in the last quarter. River Road Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 4.7% in the 4th quarter. River Road Asset Management LLC now owns 30,483 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $10,191,000 after buying an additional 1,355 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Avantax Planning Partners Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 6.3% in the 4th quarter. Avantax Planning Partners Inc. now owns 3,630 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $1,214,000 after buying an additional 216 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.43% of the company's stock.

Salesforce Price Performance

Shares of CRM traded down $6.97 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $263.95. 7,239,650 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 6,543,781. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $272.54 and a 200 day moving average price of $290.38. The company has a market cap of $252.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.48 and a beta of 1.36. The company has a current ratio of 1.07, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. Salesforce Inc. has a 1 year low of $230.00 and a 1 year high of $369.00.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.74 billion. Salesforce had a net margin of 16.08% and a return on equity of 12.94%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 7.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.44 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Salesforce Inc. will post 7.46 earnings per share 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 0.63%. Salesforce's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 25.98%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on CRM shares. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Salesforce from $255.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 29th. Piper Sandler upped their target price on shares of Salesforce from $315.00 to $335.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 28th. Needham & Company LLC restated a "buy" rating and issued a $400.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Wednesday, May 28th. Northland Securities lowered their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $423.00 to $396.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 29th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets dropped their price target on Salesforce from $350.00 to $335.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, twenty-seven have given a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $348.68.

Insider Activity at Salesforce

In related news, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 1,525 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 12,211 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,097,442.26. The trade was a 11.10% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider R David Schmaier sold 6,959 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $253.31, for a total transaction of $1,762,784.29. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 36,090 shares of the company's stock, valued at $9,141,957.90. This trade represents a 16.17% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 35,284 shares of company stock valued at $9,444,537 over the last ninety days. 3.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.