Griffin Asset Management Inc. Buys 2,279 Shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Griffin Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM - Free Report) by 332.2% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 2,965 shares of the CRM provider's stock after acquiring an additional 2,279 shares during the quarter. Griffin Asset Management Inc.'s holdings in Salesforce were worth $796,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CRM. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. bought a new position in Salesforce during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Accredited Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Salesforce during the 4th quarter worth $27,000. Asset Planning Inc acquired a new position in Salesforce in the 4th quarter valued at $31,000. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC bought a new position in Salesforce in the 4th quarter worth $35,000. Finally, Wood Tarver Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in Salesforce during the 4th quarter worth $35,000. Institutional investors own 80.43% of the company's stock.

Salesforce Price Performance

Shares of NYSE CRM traded down $8.66 during trading on Friday, reaching $258.25. The company had a trading volume of 7,647,008 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,545,929. Salesforce, Inc. has a 52 week low of $227.77 and a 52 week high of $369.00. The stock has a market cap of $246.89 billion, a PE ratio of 42.48, a PEG ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 1.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a current ratio of 1.11. The business's 50 day moving average price is $268.09 and its 200-day moving average price is $300.13.

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

Salesforce Cuts Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 10th. Shareholders 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 0.64%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, June 18th. Salesforce's dividend payout ratio is presently 25.98%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider R David Schmaier sold 6,959 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $253.31, for a total transaction of $1,762,784.29. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 36,090 shares of the company's stock, valued at $9,141,957.90. This represents a 16.17% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 1,909 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $284.58, for a total transaction of $543,263.22. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 11,310 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,218,599.80. This represents a 14.44% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 40,332 shares of company stock valued at $11,024,802 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 3.20% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on CRM shares. Westpark Capital reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $320.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Wednesday, May 28th. Erste Group Bank cut Salesforce from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, June 5th. Piper Sandler boosted their target price on shares of Salesforce from $315.00 to $335.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 28th. Barclays reduced their price target on shares of Salesforce from $425.00 to $347.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 29th. Finally, UBS Group decreased their price target on shares of Salesforce from $320.00 to $300.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, May 27th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating, twenty-seven have assigned a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $346.34.

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.