CCM Investment Advisers LLC Trims Stock Holdings in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

CCM Investment Advisers LLC cut its holdings in shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM - Free Report) by 3.5% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 64,928 shares of the CRM provider's stock after selling 2,376 shares during the quarter. Salesforce accounts for 2.1% of CCM Investment Advisers LLC's holdings, making the stock its 15th largest position. CCM Investment Advisers LLC's holdings in Salesforce were worth $17,424,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. acquired a new position in Salesforce in the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Accredited Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Salesforce in the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Asset Planning Inc acquired a new position in Salesforce in the fourth quarter valued at about $31,000. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Salesforce during the fourth quarter worth about $35,000. Finally, Wood Tarver Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in Salesforce during the fourth quarter worth about $35,000. 80.43% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Salesforce

In other news, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 1,909 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 $3,218,599.80. This represents a 14.44% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Miguel Milano sold 705 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $279.44, for a total transaction of $197,005.20. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 9,323 shares in the company, valued at $2,605,219.12. This trade represents a 7.03% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 34,111 shares of company stock worth $9,299,283 in the last quarter. 3.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Loop Capital dropped their target price on shares of Salesforce from $330.00 to $300.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Royal Bank of Canada cut Salesforce from an "outperform" rating to a "sector perform" rating and dropped their price target for the company from $420.00 to $275.00 in a research note on Thursday, May 29th. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price objective on Salesforce from $425.00 to $375.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 31st. 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 research report on Thursday, May 29th. Finally, Oppenheimer reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $370.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Tuesday, June 10th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating, twenty-seven have issued a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $346.34.

Salesforce Stock Up 2.0%

Shares of NYSE:CRM traded up $5.23 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $263.63. 7,158,607 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 7,095,362. The stock has a market cap of $252.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 43.36, a P/E/G ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 1.38. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $268.09 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $299.72. Salesforce, Inc. has a 12-month low of $227.77 and a 12-month high of $369.00. The company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results 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 net margin of 15.96% and a return on equity of 12.34%. The company had revenue of $9.83 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.74 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.44 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 7.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.46 earnings per share for the current 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 issued a dividend of $0.416 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, June 18th. This represents a $1.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.63%. Salesforce's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 25.98%.

Salesforce 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.