Everest Management Corp. Increases Stake in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Everest Management Corp. raised its holdings in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM - Free Report) by 74.8% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,897 shares of the CRM provider's stock after buying an additional 1,667 shares during the period. Salesforce makes up approximately 1.0% of Everest Management Corp.'s portfolio, making the stock its 20th largest position. Everest Management Corp.'s holdings in Salesforce were worth $1,046,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Tounjian Advisory Partners LLC purchased a new position in Salesforce in the first quarter valued at $3,247,000. Pallas Capital Advisors LLC raised its position in Salesforce by 9.8% in the 1st quarter. Pallas Capital Advisors LLC now owns 39,285 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $10,542,000 after purchasing an additional 3,497 shares in the last quarter. WFA Asset Management Corp grew its position in shares of Salesforce by 614.3% during the first quarter. WFA Asset Management Corp now owns 400 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $107,000 after buying an additional 344 shares in the last quarter. Patrick M Sweeney & Associates Inc. grew its position in shares of Salesforce by 3.8% during the first quarter. Patrick M Sweeney & Associates Inc. now owns 1,372 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $368,000 after buying an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Farther Finance Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Salesforce by 2.9% during the first quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 18,797 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $5,079,000 after buying an additional 522 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.43% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Salesforce

In other news, insider Srinivas Tallapragada sold 6,697 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the insider now owns 41,422 shares of the company's stock, valued at $12,219,490. The trade was a 13.92% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Amy E. Weaver sold 6,221 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 owns 46,750 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,967,047.50. The trade was a 11.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 40,332 shares of company stock worth $11,024,802. 3.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Salesforce Trading Up 2.7%

Shares of Salesforce stock opened at $274.48 on Monday. The company has a 50-day moving average of $266.57 and a two-hundred day moving average of $302.19. Salesforce, Inc. has a 12-month low of $227.77 and a 12-month high of $369.00. The company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. The stock has a market cap of $262.40 billion, a PE ratio of 45.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 1.38.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 28th. The CRM provider reported $2.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.55 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $9.83 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $9.74 billion. Salesforce had a return on equity of 12.34% and a net margin of 15.96%. Salesforce's revenue was up 7.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.44 earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.46 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Cuts Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 10th. Investors of record on Wednesday, June 18th will be paid a $0.416 dividend. This represents a $1.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.61%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, June 18th. Salesforce's payout ratio is currently 25.98%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have commented on CRM shares. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $400.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a report on Wednesday, May 28th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their target price on shares of Salesforce from $425.00 to $375.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Bank of America cut their price target on Salesforce from $440.00 to $400.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. DA Davidson reissued an "underperform" rating and set a $200.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Wednesday, May 28th. Finally, Piper Sandler increased their price target on shares of Salesforce from $315.00 to $335.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 28th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating, twenty-seven have given a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $346.34.

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.

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