Confluence Wealth Services Inc. Purchases 3,227 Shares of Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Confluence Wealth Services Inc. lifted its position in Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM - Free Report) by 150.4% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 5,373 shares of the CRM provider's stock after buying an additional 3,227 shares during the quarter. Confluence Wealth Services Inc.'s holdings in Salesforce were worth $1,346,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Brighton Jones LLC grew its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 13.7% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 25,668 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $8,582,000 after purchasing an additional 3,102 shares during the last quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC lifted its position in Salesforce by 12.6% during the 4th quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 1,827 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $611,000 after purchasing an additional 205 shares during the period. Whipplewood Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Salesforce during the 4th quarter valued at about $62,000. Linscomb Wealth Inc. lifted its position in Salesforce by 2.1% during the 4th quarter. Linscomb Wealth Inc. now owns 15,872 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $5,306,000 after purchasing an additional 329 shares during the period. Finally, Peloton Wealth Strategists raised its position in shares of Salesforce by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Peloton Wealth Strategists now owns 24,905 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $8,326,000 after acquiring an additional 78 shares during the period. 80.43% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Citigroup cut their price target on shares of Salesforce from $320.00 to $295.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 30th. Royal Bank Of Canada downgraded shares of Salesforce from an "outperform" rating to a "sector perform" rating and cut their price target for the company from $420.00 to $275.00 in a research report on Thursday, May 29th. Northland Securities dropped their target price on shares of Salesforce from $423.00 to $396.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 29th. Guggenheim upgraded shares of Salesforce from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, April 21st. Finally, DA Davidson restated an "underperform" rating and set a $200.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a report on Wednesday, May 28th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, twenty-eight have given a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Salesforce presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $349.08.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider R David Schmaier sold 6,959 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the insider now owns 36,090 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $9,141,957.90. The trade was a 16.17% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Srinivas Tallapragada sold 6,697 shares of the business'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 sale, the insider now directly owns 41,422 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $12,219,490. The trade was a 13.92% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 26,284 shares of company stock valued at $6,996,762 over the last ninety days. 3.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Salesforce Stock Performance

CRM stock traded up $1.98 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $272.72. 21,736,713 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,529,239. 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 business has a 50-day moving average price of $270.38 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $294.25. Salesforce Inc. has a one year low of $230.00 and a one year high of $369.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $260.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.48 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, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.55 by $0.03. Salesforce had a net margin of 16.08% and a return on equity of 12.94%. The firm had revenue of $9.83 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $9.74 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.44 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 7.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that Salesforce Inc. will post 7.46 EPS for the current year.

Salesforce Cuts Dividend

The business 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 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 0.61%. Salesforce's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 25.98%.

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.