Embree Financial Group Buys 1,535 Shares of Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Embree Financial Group lifted its stake in Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM - Free Report) by 34.1% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 6,043 shares of the CRM provider's stock after buying an additional 1,535 shares during the period. Embree Financial Group's holdings in Salesforce were worth $1,622,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Athena Investment Management bought a new stake in shares of Salesforce during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $236,000. Jag Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Salesforce by 2,507.9% during the fourth quarter. Jag Capital Management LLC now owns 23,706 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $7,926,000 after buying an additional 22,797 shares in the last quarter. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp increased its holdings in Salesforce by 2.7% in the 4th quarter. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp now owns 27,358 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $9,146,000 after buying an additional 723 shares during the period. Millstone Evans Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Salesforce in the 4th quarter valued at $823,000. Finally, Heartland Bank & Trust Co lifted its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 117.2% during the 1st quarter. Heartland Bank & Trust Co now owns 5,981 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $1,605,000 after acquiring an additional 3,227 shares during the period. 80.43% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Salesforce

In other Salesforce news, insider R David Schmaier sold 1,785 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $288.34, for a total value of $514,686.90. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 29,190 shares in the company, valued at $8,416,644.60. This represents a 5.76% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 1,256 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $253.31, for a total value of $318,157.36. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 12,826 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,248,954.06. This represents a 8.92% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 24,992 shares of company stock valued at $6,704,198. Corporate insiders own 3.20% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

CRM has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Needham & Company LLC reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $400.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Wednesday, May 28th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price objective on Salesforce from $425.00 to $375.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 31st. Scotiabank cut their target price on Salesforce from $400.00 to $345.00 and set a "sector outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, March 17th. Stephens dropped their price objective on Salesforce from $311.00 to $309.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 30th. Finally, Macquarie reissued a "neutral" rating and set a $320.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Two equities 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 issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Salesforce presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $349.08.

Salesforce Stock Performance

CRM stock opened at $263.14 on Tuesday. Salesforce Inc. has a twelve month low of $230.00 and a twelve month high of $369.00. The company has a quick ratio of 1.07, a current ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. The company has a market cap of $251.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 41.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 1.38. The business's fifty day moving average is $268.69 and its 200-day moving average is $296.11.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results 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 return on equity of 12.94% and a net margin of 16.08%. The firm had revenue of $9.83 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.74 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.44 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 7.6% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that Salesforce Inc. will post 7.46 EPS for the current year.

Salesforce Cuts Dividend

The company 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 dividend of $0.416 per share. This represents a $1.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.63%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, June 18th. Salesforce's dividend payout ratio is currently 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.

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