Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM) Position Trimmed by Catalina Capital Group LLC

Catalina Capital Group LLC cut its stake in Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM - Free Report) by 76.6% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 763 shares of the CRM provider's stock after selling 2,499 shares during the period. Catalina Capital Group LLC's holdings in Salesforce were worth $205,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Athena Investment Management acquired a new position in Salesforce during the fourth quarter worth $236,000. Jag Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Salesforce by 2,507.9% in the fourth quarter. Jag Capital Management LLC now owns 23,706 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $7,926,000 after buying an additional 22,797 shares in the last quarter. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp raised its stake in shares of Salesforce by 2.7% during the 4th 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 last quarter. Dash Acquisitions Inc. raised its stake in shares of Salesforce by 2.6% during 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 shares of Salesforce in the 4th quarter worth about $823,000. 80.43% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Salesforce Stock Down 1.4%

Shares of NYSE:CRM traded down $3.78 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $258.98. 7,623,720 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 6,535,521. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $268.31 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $298.72. 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 twelve month low of $230.00 and a twelve month high of $369.00. The company has a market cap of $247.59 billion, a PE ratio of 40.53, a P/E/G ratio of 2.38 and a beta of 1.38.

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, beating the consensus estimate of $2.55 by $0.03. Salesforce had a return on equity of 12.94% and a net margin of 16.08%. The company had revenue of $9.83 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.74 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.44 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 7.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts anticipate 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 will be paid on Thursday, July 10th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, June 18th will be given a $0.416 dividend. This represents a $1.66 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.64%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, June 18th. Salesforce's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 25.98%.

Insider Activity

In other Salesforce news, insider R David Schmaier sold 6,959 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the insider now owns 36,090 shares in the company, valued at $9,141,957.90. The trade was a 16.17% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 1,909 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $284.58, for a total transaction of $543,263.22. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 11,310 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,218,599.80. The trade was a 14.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 34,111 shares of company stock worth $9,299,283 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 3.20% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CRM has been the subject of several recent research reports. Oppenheimer restated an "outperform" rating and set a $370.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a report on Tuesday, June 10th. Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $425.00 to $347.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 29th. Bank of America reduced their target price on Salesforce from $440.00 to $400.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on Salesforce from $340.00 to $385.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, May 29th. Finally, Northland Securities cut their price target on Salesforce from $423.00 to $396.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 29th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, twenty-eight have given a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus 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.