Mar Vista Investment Partners LLC Cuts Stock Position in Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Mar Vista Investment Partners LLC lessened its stake in shares of Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM - Free Report) by 15.4% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 162,809 shares of the CRM provider's stock after selling 29,670 shares during the quarter. Salesforce accounts for about 3.6% of Mar Vista Investment Partners LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 9th largest position. Mar Vista Investment Partners LLC's holdings in Salesforce were worth $43,691,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in CRM. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. bought a new position in shares of Salesforce in the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Accredited Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Salesforce in the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. Abound Financial LLC bought a new position in Salesforce in the 1st quarter valued at $31,000. Wood Tarver Financial Group LLC bought a new position in Salesforce in the 4th quarter valued at $35,000. Finally, VSM Wealth Advisory LLC bought a new position in Salesforce in the 4th quarter valued at $45,000. Institutional investors own 80.43% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other Salesforce news, CEO Marc Benioff sold 2,250 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $272.48, for a total value of $613,080.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 11,862,457 shares in the company, valued at $3,232,282,283.36. This represents a 0.02% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Srinivas Tallapragada sold 6,697 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $295.00, for a total value of $1,975,615.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 41,422 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,219,490. This represents a 13.92% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 35,284 shares of company stock valued at $9,444,537 in the last quarter. 3.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Salesforce Stock Performance

Shares of Salesforce stock traded down $5.74 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $258.23. 7,004,264 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,540,561. Salesforce Inc. has a 12 month low of $230.00 and a 12 month high of $369.00. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $272.43 and a 200 day simple moving average of $289.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a current ratio of 1.07. The company has a market capitalization of $246.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.41, a P/E/G ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 1.36.

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. Salesforce had a return on equity of 12.94% and a net margin of 16.08%. The business had revenue of $9.83 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.74 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.44 earnings per share. Salesforce's revenue was up 7.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Salesforce Inc. will post 7.46 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 10th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, June 18th were issued 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 was Wednesday, June 18th. Salesforce's payout ratio is 25.98%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have issued reports on CRM. Jefferies Financial Group cut their target price on shares of Salesforce from $425.00 to $375.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 31st. Mizuho cut their target price on shares of Salesforce from $425.00 to $380.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 15th. JMP Securities reaffirmed a "market outperform" rating and issued a $430.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Friday. Stephens reduced their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $311.00 to $309.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 30th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein raised their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $243.00 to $255.00 and gave the company an "underperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 29th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, twenty-seven have issued a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $348.16.

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.