Dover Advisors LLC Raises Stock Position in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Dover Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM - Free Report) by 24.5% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 8,390 shares of the CRM provider's stock after buying an additional 1,651 shares during the quarter. Dover Advisors LLC's holdings in Salesforce were worth $2,252,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CRM. Tallon Kerry Patrick purchased a new stake in shares of Salesforce in the 4th quarter valued at $236,000. Brighton Jones LLC grew its stake in Salesforce by 13.7% during 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 in the last quarter. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA purchased a new stake in Salesforce during the 4th quarter worth about $104,173,000. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC increased its holdings in Salesforce by 12.6% during the 4th quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 1,827 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $611,000 after purchasing an additional 205 shares during the period. Finally, Leavell Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in Salesforce by 35.8% during the 4th quarter. Leavell Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,468 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $826,000 after purchasing an additional 650 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.43% of the company's stock.

Salesforce Stock Down 3.2%

NYSE CRM traded down $8.66 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $258.25. 7,647,008 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 6,536,741. Salesforce, Inc. has a 52-week low of $227.77 and a 52-week high of $369.00. The firm has a market cap of $246.89 billion, a PE ratio of 42.48, a PEG ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 1.38. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $268.09 and a 200 day simple moving average of $299.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 1.11.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 28th. The CRM provider reported $2.58 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.55 by $0.03. Salesforce had a net margin of 15.96% and a return on equity of 12.34%. 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 company earned $2.44 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 7.6% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.46 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Cuts Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on CRM shares. Loop Capital lowered their price objective on Salesforce from $330.00 to $300.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Redburn Atlantic started coverage on Salesforce in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. They set a "buy" rating for the company. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on Salesforce from $340.00 to $385.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 29th. Citigroup decreased their target price on Salesforce from $320.00 to $295.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 30th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets decreased their target price on Salesforce from $367.00 to $350.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, May 27th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating, twenty-seven have issued a buy rating and four have given 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 $346.34.

Insider Activity

In related news, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 500 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $275.00, for a total value of $137,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 11,711 shares in the company, valued at $3,220,525. This trade represents a 4.09% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Amy E. Weaver sold 6,221 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $277.37, for a total transaction of $1,725,518.77. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 46,750 shares of the company's stock, valued at $12,967,047.50. This represents a 11.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 40,332 shares of company stock valued at $11,024,802. 3.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Salesforce Profile

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.