Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM) Shares Acquired by Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management

Key Points

• Empirical Financial Services LLC increased its holdings in Salesforce Inc. by 44%, owning 8,738 shares valued at approximately $2.35 million as of its latest SEC filing.
• Salesforce's stock is currently trading at $258.57, with a 52-week range between $230.00 and $369.00, and analysts predict a potential 30% upside.
• Salesforce's recent earnings report showed a profit of $2.58 per share, exceeding expectations, with quarterly revenue of $9.83 billion, marking a 7.6% increase year-over-year.

Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management increased its holdings in shares of Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM - Free Report) by 44.0% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 8,738 shares of the CRM provider's stock after acquiring an additional 2,672 shares during the period. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management's holdings in Salesforce were worth $2,345,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in CRM. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. purchased a new position in Salesforce during the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. Accredited Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Salesforce during the fourth quarter valued at $27,000. Capital A Wealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of Salesforce by 450.0% during the first quarter. Capital A Wealth Management LLC now owns 110 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 90 shares in the last quarter. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC grew its position in shares of Salesforce by 314.8% during the first quarter. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 112 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 85 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Abound Financial LLC purchased a new position in shares of Salesforce in the 1st quarter worth $31,000. Institutional investors own 80.43% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Salesforce news, CEO Marc Benioff sold 2,250 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $259.67, for a total transaction of $584,257.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 11,955,566 shares in the company, valued at $3,104,501,823.22. This trade represents a 0.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Srinivas Tallapragada sold 6,697 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $295.00, for a total transaction of $1,975,615.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 41,422 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,219,490. This represents a 13.92% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 39,729 shares of company stock valued at $10,763,881. Company insiders own 3.20% of the company's stock.

Salesforce Price Performance

NYSE CRM traded down $7.48 on Friday, hitting $250.85. The company had a trading volume of 7,643,247 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,567,701. The company has a market capitalization of $239.81 billion, a PE ratio of 39.26, a PEG ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 1.37. The company's fifty day moving average price is $266.04 and its 200-day moving average price is $282.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a current ratio of 1.07 and a quick ratio of 1.07. Salesforce Inc. has a 12-month low of $230.00 and a 12-month high of $369.00.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, May 28th. The CRM provider reported $2.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.55 by $0.03. Salesforce had a net margin of 16.08% and a return on equity of 12.94%. The business had revenue of $9.83 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.74 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.44 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 7.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts predict that Salesforce Inc. will post 7.46 earnings per share for the current year.

Salesforce Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 10th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, June 18th were issued a dividend of $0.416 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, June 18th. This represents a $1.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.7%. Salesforce's dividend payout ratio is currently 25.98%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have commented on CRM. Morgan Stanley reissued an "overweight" rating and issued a $404.00 price objective (up from $393.00) on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Thursday, May 29th. Guggenheim raised shares of Salesforce from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, April 21st. Erste Group Bank downgraded shares of Salesforce from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, June 5th. JMP Securities reaffirmed a "market outperform" rating and issued a $430.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Friday, July 11th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $340.00 to $385.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 29th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, twenty-seven have assigned a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Salesforce presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $348.16.

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.