Financial Gravity Asset Management Inc. Makes New $2.23 Million Investment in Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Financial Gravity Asset Management Inc. bought a new stake in Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 8,310 shares of the CRM provider's stock, valued at approximately $2,230,000.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Salesforce by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 19,955,353 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $6,656,078,000 after buying an additional 175,035 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp raised its holdings in Salesforce by 18.3% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 11,224,927 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $3,752,830,000 after purchasing an additional 1,736,667 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Salesforce in the fourth quarter worth approximately $3,599,867,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its stake in Salesforce by 23.2% during the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 8,938,536 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $2,988,422,000 after purchasing an additional 1,683,233 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its position in shares of Salesforce by 7.5% during the 4th quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 8,658,132 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $2,894,673,000 after purchasing an additional 602,445 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 80.43% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently weighed in on CRM. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Salesforce from $255.00 to $275.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 29th. Northland Securities lowered their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $423.00 to $396.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 29th. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their target price on shares of Salesforce from $425.00 to $375.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, March 31st. JMP Securities restated a "market outperform" rating and set a $430.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a report on Friday. Finally, Stephens dropped their price target on Salesforce from $311.00 to $309.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 30th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, twenty-seven have issued a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $348.16.

Salesforce Stock Down 2.2%

Salesforce stock traded down $5.74 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $258.23. 7,004,264 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,547,931. Salesforce Inc. has a 1-year low of $230.00 and a 1-year high of $369.00. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $272.09 and a two-hundred day moving average of $288.49. The company has a current ratio of 1.07, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. The stock has a market cap of $246.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.41, a P/E/G ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 1.36.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 28th. The CRM provider reported $2.58 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 company had revenue of $9.83 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.74 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.44 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 7.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts anticipate that Salesforce Inc. will post 7.46 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 10th. Investors of record on Wednesday, June 18th were paid a dividend of $0.416 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, June 18th. This represents a $1.66 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.64%. Salesforce's payout ratio is 25.98%.

Insider Transactions at Salesforce

In other news, insider Parker Harris sold 1,142 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $262.35, for a total value of $299,603.70. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 136,824 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $35,895,776.40. This represents a 0.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 261 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, June 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $262.35, for a total transaction of $68,473.35. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 12,024 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,154,496.40. This trade represents a 2.12% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 35,284 shares of company stock worth $9,444,537. Insiders own 3.20% of the company's stock.

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.