Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) Shares Purchased by Crescent Sterling Ltd.

Crescent Sterling Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM - Free Report) by 79.1% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,078 shares of the CRM provider's stock after purchasing an additional 1,359 shares during the quarter. Crescent Sterling Ltd.'s holdings in Salesforce were worth $826,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of CRM. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. bought a new stake in Salesforce during the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. Accredited Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Salesforce during the fourth quarter valued at about $27,000. Arlington Trust Co LLC lifted its holdings in Salesforce by 85.1% during the fourth quarter. Arlington Trust Co LLC now owns 87 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 40 shares during the period. Asset Planning Inc bought a new stake in shares of Salesforce during the 4th quarter worth $31,000. Finally, Collier Financial bought a new stake in Salesforce in the fourth quarter worth about $32,000. Institutional investors own 80.43% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CRM has been the topic of several analyst reports. Mizuho decreased their price target on Salesforce from $425.00 to $380.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 15th. Redburn Atlantic started coverage on shares of Salesforce in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. They issued a "buy" rating on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Salesforce from $255.00 to $275.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, May 29th. Citigroup decreased their price target on Salesforce from $320.00 to $295.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 30th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald assumed coverage on shares of Salesforce in a report on Tuesday, June 3rd. They set an "overweight" rating and a $325.00 target price for the company. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating, twenty-seven have assigned a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Salesforce currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $346.34.

Salesforce Trading Down 0.9%

NYSE:CRM traded down $2.29 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $265.93. 6,556,774 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 6,578,379. 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, Inc. has a 12-month low of $227.77 and a 12-month high of $369.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $254.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 43.74, a P/E/G ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 1.38. The firm's fifty day moving average is $266.84 and its 200-day moving average is $301.47.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, May 28th. The CRM provider reported $2.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.55 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $9.83 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.74 billion. Salesforce had a return on equity of 12.34% and a net margin of 15.96%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 7.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.44 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.46 EPS for the current year.

Salesforce Cuts Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 10th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, June 18th will be given a $0.416 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, June 18th. This represents a $1.66 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.63%. Salesforce's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 25.98%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Amy E. Weaver sold 6,221 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $277.37, for a total transaction of $1,725,518.77. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 46,750 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $12,967,047.50. This represents a 11.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 1,909 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $284.58, for a total transaction of $543,263.22. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 11,310 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,218,599.80. The trade was a 14.44% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 40,332 shares of company stock valued at $11,024,802 in the last 90 days. 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.