Hudson Valley Investment Advisors Inc. ADV Raises Holdings in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Hudson Valley Investment Advisors Inc. ADV boosted its stake in shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM - Free Report) by 8.9% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 39,744 shares of the CRM provider's stock after purchasing an additional 3,253 shares during the period. Salesforce makes up about 1.3% of Hudson Valley Investment Advisors Inc. ADV's portfolio, making the stock its 22nd biggest position. Hudson Valley Investment Advisors Inc. ADV's holdings in Salesforce were worth $10,666,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of CRM. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings 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 valued at $6,656,078,000 after buying an additional 175,035 shares during the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 12,453,872 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $4,163,703,000 after buying an additional 177,321 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp grew its stake in Salesforce by 18.3% during 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 purchased a new stake in Salesforce during the 4th quarter valued at about $3,599,867,000. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew 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 during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.43% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Salesforce news, insider Miguel Milano sold 705 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $279.44, for a total value of $197,005.20. Following the sale, the insider now owns 9,323 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,605,219.12. This trade represents a 7.03% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Srinivas Tallapragada sold 6,697 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 41,422 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,219,490. This trade represents a 13.92% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 40,332 shares of company stock worth $11,024,802 in the last ninety days. 3.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on CRM shares. Northland Securities dropped their target price on Salesforce from $423.00 to $396.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 29th. UBS Group dropped their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $320.00 to $300.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, May 27th. Redburn Atlantic initiated coverage on shares of Salesforce in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. They issued a "buy" rating on the stock. Cantor Fitzgerald initiated coverage on shares of Salesforce in a report on Tuesday. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $325.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Mizuho lowered their price target on shares of Salesforce from $425.00 to $380.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 15th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating, twenty-seven have issued a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $346.34.

Salesforce Stock Up 2.7%

NYSE:CRM opened at $274.48 on Friday. The stock's fifty day moving average is $266.57 and its two-hundred day moving average is $302.58. Salesforce, Inc. has a 52 week low of $227.77 and a 52 week high of $369.00. The company has a quick ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. The stock has a market capitalization of $262.40 billion, a price-to-earnings 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 posted its earnings results 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.44 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.46 EPS for the current year.

Salesforce Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 10th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, June 18th will be issued a dividend of $0.416 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, June 18th. This represents a $1.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.61%. 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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