Cerity Partners LLC Boosts Stock Position in Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Cerity Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM - Free Report) by 14.3% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 609,279 shares of the CRM provider's stock after purchasing an additional 76,128 shares during the quarter. Cerity Partners LLC owned approximately 0.06% of Salesforce worth $163,423,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Wulff Hansen & CO. grew its position in shares of Salesforce by 3.5% during the fourth quarter. Wulff Hansen & CO. now owns 1,035 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $346,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. Seven Mile Advisory grew its holdings in Salesforce by 2.3% during the 4th quarter. Seven Mile Advisory now owns 1,762 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $589,000 after buying an additional 39 shares in the last quarter. Liberty One Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in Salesforce by 1.2% during the 1st quarter. Liberty One Investment Management LLC now owns 3,165 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $849,000 after buying an additional 39 shares in the last quarter. Kozak & Associates Inc. grew its holdings in Salesforce by 1.6% during the 1st quarter. Kozak & Associates Inc. now owns 2,571 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $654,000 after buying an additional 41 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Meridian Wealth Partners LLC grew its holdings in Salesforce by 5.3% during the 4th quarter. Meridian Wealth Partners LLC now owns 834 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $279,000 after buying an additional 42 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.43% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider R David Schmaier sold 6,959 shares of the business'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 transaction, the insider directly owned 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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 1,525 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $253.66, for a total value of $386,831.50. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 12,211 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,097,442.26. This trade represents a 11.10% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 35,284 shares of company stock valued at $9,444,537 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 3.20% of the company's stock.

Salesforce Stock Down 2.2%

Shares of CRM traded down $5.74 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $258.23. The company had a trading volume of 7,004,264 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,540,561. The company has a market capitalization of $246.87 billion, a PE ratio of 40.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.39 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 one year low of $230.00 and a one year high of $369.00. The company's fifty day moving average price is $272.09 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $289.24.

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, topping the consensus estimate 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 return on equity of 12.94% and a net margin of 16.08%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 7.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.44 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Salesforce Inc. will post 7.46 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 10th. Investors of record on Wednesday, June 18th were paid a dividend of $0.416 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, June 18th. This represents a $1.66 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.64%. Salesforce's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 25.98%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Erste Group Bank cut Salesforce from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, June 5th. BMO Capital Markets dropped their target price on Salesforce from $350.00 to $335.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Thursday. Guggenheim upgraded Salesforce from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, April 21st. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on Salesforce from $340.00 to $385.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, May 29th. Finally, Westpark Capital reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $320.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a report on Wednesday, May 28th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, twenty-seven have issued a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $348.16.

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.