L & S Advisors Inc Has $4.97 Million Position in Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Key Points

• L & S Advisors Inc reduced its stake in Salesforce Inc. by 25.7% during the first quarter, now holding shares valued at approximately $4.97 million.
• Salesforce's CEO, Marc Benioff, sold 2,250 shares for around $598,000, indicating a slight decrease in his ownership position.
• The stock has experienced a decline of 2.9% and currently has a market capitalization of $239.81 billion.

L & S Advisors Inc cut its position in shares of Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM - Free Report) by 25.7% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 18,522 shares of the CRM provider's stock after selling 6,413 shares during the quarter. L & S Advisors Inc's holdings in Salesforce were worth $4,971,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Brighton Jones LLC raised its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 13.7% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 25,668 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $8,582,000 after buying an additional 3,102 shares during the last quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC increased its stake in Salesforce by 12.6% during the 4th quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 1,827 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $611,000 after buying an additional 205 shares during the period. PAX Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in Salesforce in the 4th quarter valued at about $501,000. Landscape Capital Management L.L.C. acquired a new stake in Salesforce in the fourth quarter valued at $2,012,000. Finally, Smith Moore & CO. grew its stake in Salesforce by 10.8% during the 4th quarter. Smith Moore & CO. now owns 1,627 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $544,000 after buying an additional 159 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.43% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Salesforce

In other Salesforce news, insider Srinivas Tallapragada sold 6,697 shares of the 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 directly owned 41,422 shares in the company, valued at $12,219,490. This represents a 13.92% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Marc Benioff sold 2,250 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction on Friday, July 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $259.67, for a total value of $584,257.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 11,955,566 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,104,501,823.22. The trade was a 0.02% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 44,229 shares of company stock valued at $11,898,691 over the last quarter. 3.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Salesforce Trading Up 0.6%

Shares of NYSE CRM traded up $1.38 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $248.87. 5,824,169 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 7,073,268. Salesforce Inc. has a 12 month low of $230.00 and a 12 month high of $369.00. The company has a market capitalization of $237.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.95, a P/E/G ratio of 2.29 and a beta of 1.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a current ratio of 1.07 and a quick ratio of 1.07. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $265.03 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $280.90.

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 the consensus estimate of $2.55 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $9.83 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $9.74 billion. Salesforce had a return on equity of 12.94% and a net margin of 16.08%. Salesforce's revenue for the quarter was up 7.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.44 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Salesforce Inc. will post 7.46 EPS for the current year.

Salesforce Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 10th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, June 18th were paid a dividend of $0.416 per share. This represents a $1.66 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, June 18th. Salesforce's payout ratio is currently 25.98%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CRM has been the topic of several recent research reports. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and issued a $404.00 price target (up previously from $393.00) on shares of Salesforce in a report on Thursday, May 29th. UBS Group set a $404.00 target price on Salesforce and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, June 18th. Stephens decreased their target price on Salesforce from $311.00 to $309.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 30th. Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their target price on Salesforce from $243.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock an "underperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 29th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $400.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Wednesday, May 28th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, twenty-seven have given a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $348.16.

About Salesforce

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.