CWA Asset Management Group LLC Has $3.31 Million Stock Holdings in Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

CWA Asset Management Group LLC decreased its stake in Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM - Free Report) by 21.4% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 12,342 shares of the CRM provider's stock after selling 3,366 shares during the period. CWA Asset Management Group LLC's holdings in Salesforce were worth $3,312,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. LifeWealth Investments LLC grew its position in Salesforce by 10.5% in the 1st quarter. LifeWealth Investments LLC now owns 1,013 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $272,000 after purchasing an additional 96 shares during the last quarter. Marino Stram & Associates LLC lifted its stake in shares of Salesforce by 6.5% in the first quarter. Marino Stram & Associates LLC now owns 2,403 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $645,000 after buying an additional 146 shares during the period. Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Salesforce by 104.8% in the first quarter. Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 16,003 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $4,311,000 after buying an additional 8,188 shares during the period. Essex Savings Bank grew its position in Salesforce by 6.6% during the first quarter. Essex Savings Bank now owns 4,879 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $1,309,000 after buying an additional 304 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Puzo Michael J increased its stake in Salesforce by 99.5% during the first quarter. Puzo Michael J now owns 11,124 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $2,985,000 after acquiring an additional 5,548 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.43% of the company's stock.

Salesforce Trading Down 1.4%

Shares of NYSE CRM traded down $3.78 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $258.98. The stock had a trading volume of 7,623,720 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,535,521. The firm has a market cap of $247.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.38 and a beta of 1.38. Salesforce Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $230.00 and a fifty-two week high of $369.00. 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 company's 50-day simple moving average is $268.31 and its 200 day simple moving average is $298.72.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly 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 business had revenue of $9.83 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $9.74 billion. Salesforce had a return on equity of 12.94% and a net margin of 16.08%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 7.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $2.44 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that Salesforce Inc. will post 7.46 EPS for the current year.

Salesforce Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 10th. Investors of record on Wednesday, June 18th will be issued a $0.416 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, June 18th. This represents a $1.66 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.64%. Salesforce's dividend payout ratio is currently 25.98%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have commented on CRM shares. Bank of America reduced their price objective on Salesforce from $440.00 to $400.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Northland Securities reduced their target price on Salesforce from $423.00 to $396.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 29th. Guggenheim raised shares of Salesforce from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, April 21st. Macquarie restated a "neutral" rating and issued a $320.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada lowered shares of Salesforce from an "outperform" rating to a "sector perform" rating and decreased their target price for the company from $420.00 to $275.00 in a research report on Thursday, May 29th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, twenty-eight have assigned a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Salesforce currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $349.08.

Insider Buying and Selling at Salesforce

In other Salesforce news, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 1,909 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $284.58, for a total value 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. This trade represents a 14.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Parker Harris sold 3,273 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, March 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $284.58, for a total transaction of $931,430.34. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 125,146 shares of the company's stock, valued at $35,614,048.68. This trade represents a 2.55% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 34,111 shares of company stock worth $9,299,283. Insiders own 3.20% of the company's stock.

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.