Elite Wealth Management Inc. Reduces Stock Holdings in Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Elite Wealth Management Inc. reduced its stake in Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM - Free Report) by 5.8% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 16,986 shares of the CRM provider's stock after selling 1,053 shares during the quarter. Salesforce comprises approximately 0.6% of Elite Wealth Management Inc.'s portfolio, making the stock its 14th biggest holding. Elite Wealth Management Inc.'s holdings in Salesforce were worth $4,558,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. bought a new stake in Salesforce in the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Accredited Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Salesforce during the fourth quarter worth approximately $27,000. Wood Tarver Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Salesforce in the 4th quarter worth approximately $35,000. Abound Financial LLC bought a new stake in shares of Salesforce in the 1st quarter worth approximately $31,000. Finally, VSM Wealth Advisory LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Salesforce in the 4th quarter valued at $45,000. 80.43% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently commented on CRM. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated a "sector perform" rating and issued a $275.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Monday. BMO Capital Markets lowered their target price on Salesforce from $350.00 to $335.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. Oppenheimer restated an "outperform" rating and set a $370.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a report on Tuesday, June 10th. Guggenheim upgraded Salesforce from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, April 21st. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein raised their target price on shares of Salesforce from $243.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock an "underperform" rating in a report on Thursday, May 29th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, twenty-seven have given a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $348.16.

Salesforce Stock Up 0.5%

CRM traded up $1.38 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $259.45. The company's stock had a trading volume of 6,529,578 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,259,348. Salesforce Inc. has a 1 year low of $230.00 and a 1 year high of $369.00. The stock's 50-day moving average is $272.09 and its 200-day moving average is $288.49. The firm has a market capitalization of $248.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.60, a PEG ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 1.36. The company has a current ratio of 1.07, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14.

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 for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 the consensus estimate of $9.74 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.44 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 7.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts expect that Salesforce Inc. will post 7.46 EPS for the current year.

Salesforce Cuts Dividend

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider R David Schmaier sold 6,959 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $253.31, for a total transaction of $1,762,784.29. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 36,090 shares of the company's stock, valued at $9,141,957.90. This trade represents a 16.17% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Srinivas Tallapragada sold 6,697 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 41,422 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $12,219,490. This trade represents a 13.92% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 37,534 shares of company stock valued at $10,028,795. Insiders own 3.20% of the company's stock.

Salesforce Company 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.