Fermata Advisors LLC Has $590,000 Position in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Fermata Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM - Free Report) by 87.3% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,199 shares of the CRM provider's stock after acquiring an additional 1,025 shares during the quarter. Fermata Advisors LLC's holdings in Salesforce were worth $590,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. acquired a new position in Salesforce in the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Accredited Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Salesforce in the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Arlington Trust Co LLC increased its stake in shares of Salesforce by 85.1% in the fourth quarter. Arlington Trust Co LLC now owns 87 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 40 shares during the period. Compass Financial Services Inc bought a new position in Salesforce during the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. Finally, Asset Planning Inc bought a new position in Salesforce during the fourth quarter worth $31,000. 80.43% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Stephens lowered their target price on Salesforce from $311.00 to $309.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 30th. Erste Group Bank downgraded Salesforce from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday. Redburn Atlantic began coverage on shares of Salesforce in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. They set a "buy" rating on the stock. BMO Capital Markets reduced their target price on Salesforce from $367.00 to $350.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, May 27th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $425.00 to $375.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Monday, March 31st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating, twenty-seven have issued a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $346.34.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Srinivas Tallapragada sold 6,697 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $295.00, for a total transaction of $1,975,615.00. Following 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider R David Schmaier sold 6,959 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $253.31, for a total value of $1,762,784.29. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 36,090 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,141,957.90. This represents a 16.17% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 40,332 shares of company stock valued at $11,024,802. 3.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Salesforce Stock Up 1.4%

CRM stock opened at $266.81 on Friday. The company's 50 day moving average is $266.48 and its 200 day moving average is $302.92. 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 $255.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 43.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 1.38. Salesforce, Inc. has a 1-year low of $227.77 and a 1-year high of $369.00.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 28th. The CRM provider reported $2.58 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.55 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $9.83 billion for 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 for the quarter was up 7.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.44 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict 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. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 0.62%. Salesforce's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 25.98%.

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.

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