City National Bank of Florida MSD Acquires Shares of 1,237 Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

City National Bank of Florida MSD bought a new stake in Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 1,237 shares of the CRM provider's stock, valued at approximately $332,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of CRM. Seven Mile Advisory lifted its stake in Salesforce by 2.3% during the fourth 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 lifted its stake in Salesforce by 1.2% during the first 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. First Command Advisory Services Inc. lifted its stake in Salesforce by 7.3% during the first quarter. First Command Advisory Services Inc. now owns 572 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $154,000 after buying an additional 39 shares in the last quarter. Clarity Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Salesforce by 2.3% during the first quarter. Clarity Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,760 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $472,000 after buying an additional 40 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mowery & Schoenfeld Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in Salesforce by 5.2% during the first quarter. Mowery & Schoenfeld Wealth Management LLC now owns 812 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $218,000 after buying an additional 40 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.43% of the company's stock.

Salesforce Stock Up 0.5%

NYSE CRM traded up $1.41 during trading on Friday, hitting $269.11. The stock had a trading volume of 4,013,320 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,704,325. The company has a market capitalization of $257.27 billion, a PE ratio of 42.11, a P/E/G ratio of 2.43 and a beta of 1.36. The company's 50-day moving average price is $268.07 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $284.27. 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 12 month low of $230.00 and a 12 month high of $369.00.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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. 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 analysts' expectations of $9.74 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.44 EPS. The business's revenue was up 7.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Salesforce Inc. will post 7.46 EPS for the current 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 issued a dividend of $0.416 per share. This represents a $1.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.62%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, June 18th. Salesforce's payout ratio is presently 25.98%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CRM has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. JMP Securities reissued a "market outperform" rating and issued a $430.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Friday, July 11th. Guggenheim raised shares of Salesforce from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, April 21st. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of 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 increased their price target on shares of Salesforce from $315.00 to $335.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 28th. Finally, Northland Securities dropped their price objective on Salesforce from $423.00 to $396.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 29th. Three investment 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 assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $348.16.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Marc Benioff sold 2,250 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $271.69, for a total transaction of $611,302.50. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 11,862,457 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,222,910,942.33. The trade was a 0.02% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Srinivas Tallapragada sold 6,697 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $295.00, for a total value of $1,975,615.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 41,422 shares in the company, valued at $12,219,490. The trade was a 13.92% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 33,479 shares of company stock worth $9,091,796 over the last three months. 3.20% of the stock is 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.