Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. Buys 2,860 Shares of Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. raised its position in Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM - Free Report) by 2.3% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 126,942 shares of the CRM provider's stock after purchasing an additional 2,860 shares during the period. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc.'s holdings in Salesforce were worth $34,066,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Salesforce by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 19,955,353 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $6,656,078,000 after purchasing an additional 175,035 shares in the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its stake in Salesforce by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 12,453,872 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $4,163,703,000 after purchasing an additional 177,321 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp increased its stake in Salesforce by 18.3% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 11,224,927 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $3,752,830,000 after purchasing an additional 1,736,667 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Salesforce in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $3,599,867,000. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its stake in Salesforce by 23.2% in the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 8,938,536 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $2,988,422,000 after purchasing an additional 1,683,233 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.43% of the company's stock.

Salesforce Stock Performance

CRM stock traded up $2.51 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $263.14. The stock had a trading volume of 9,275,001 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,501,274. The stock has a market capitalization of $251.56 billion, a PE ratio of 41.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 1.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a current ratio of 1.07 and a quick ratio of 1.07. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $268.69 and a 200 day simple moving average of $296.11. Salesforce Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $230.00 and a fifty-two week high of $369.00.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, May 28th. The CRM provider reported $2.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.55 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $9.83 billion during 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 quarterly revenue was up 7.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.44 EPS. Analysts predict that Salesforce Inc. will post 7.46 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 10th. Investors of record on Wednesday, June 18th will be given a dividend of $0.416 per share. This represents a $1.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.63%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, June 18th. Salesforce's dividend payout ratio is 25.98%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Salesforce news, insider Miguel Milano sold 705 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $279.44, for a total value of $197,005.20. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 9,323 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,605,219.12. This trade represents a 7.03% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Srinivas Tallapragada sold 6,697 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $295.00, for a total transaction of $1,975,615.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 41,422 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,219,490. This represents a 13.92% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 24,992 shares of company stock valued at $6,704,198. 3.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have commented on the stock. 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 note 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. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $340.00 to $385.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 29th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $425.00 to $375.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, Stephens lowered their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $311.00 to $309.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 30th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given 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 currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target 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.