Flynn Zito Capital Management LLC Cuts Stock Position in Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Flynn Zito Capital Management LLC cut its holdings in shares of Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM - Free Report) by 32.6% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,331 shares of the CRM provider's stock after selling 1,125 shares during the quarter. Flynn Zito Capital Management LLC's holdings in Salesforce were worth $625,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

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

Salesforce Stock Up 0.6%

Shares of NYSE:CRM traded up $1.52 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $263.80. 4,996,142 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,561,904. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $270.45 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $285.85. The firm has a market cap of $252.19 billion, a PE ratio of 41.28, a P/E/G ratio of 2.38 and a beta of 1.36. The company has a quick ratio of 1.07, a current ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. Salesforce Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $230.00 and a fifty-two week high of $369.00.

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

Salesforce Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 10th. Investors of record on Wednesday, June 18th were paid a $0.416 dividend. This represents a $1.66 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.63%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, June 18th. Salesforce's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 25.98%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Marc Benioff sold 2,250 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $262.93, for a total value of $591,592.50. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 11,911,571 shares in the company, valued at $3,131,909,363.03. This represents a 0.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Miguel Milano sold 405 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, June 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $262.35, for a total transaction of $106,251.75. Following the sale, the insider owned 9,933 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,605,922.55. This trade represents a 3.92% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 38,319 shares of company stock worth $10,290,486 over the last ninety days. 3.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on CRM shares. Erste Group Bank downgraded Salesforce from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, June 5th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an "overweight" rating and issued a $404.00 price target (up from $393.00) on shares of Salesforce in a report on Thursday, May 29th. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $350.00 to $335.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 10th. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued a "sector perform" rating and set a $275.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a report on Monday, July 14th. Finally, Citigroup dropped their price target on shares of Salesforce from $320.00 to $295.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 30th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, twenty-seven have given a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average 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.