Marcum Wealth LLC Grows Stake in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Marcum Wealth LLC raised its stake in shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM - Free Report) by 30.9% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 4,369 shares of the CRM provider's stock after buying an additional 1,032 shares during the period. Marcum Wealth LLC's holdings in Salesforce were worth $1,172,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Athena Investment Management bought a new position in Salesforce in the 4th quarter worth $236,000. Highland Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Salesforce during the 4th quarter valued at about $4,321,000. Jag Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 2,507.9% during the 4th quarter. Jag Capital Management LLC now owns 23,706 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $7,926,000 after purchasing an additional 22,797 shares during the last quarter. Lecap Asset Management Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Salesforce during the 4th quarter valued at about $2,861,000. Finally, Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 2.7% during the 4th quarter. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp now owns 27,358 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $9,146,000 after purchasing an additional 723 shares during the last quarter. 80.43% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Salesforce

In other news, CFO Amy E. Weaver sold 6,221 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $301.00, for a total transaction of $1,872,521.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 46,750 shares of the company's stock, valued at $14,071,750. This trade represents a 11.74% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Miguel Milano sold 705 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction on Friday, May 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $279.44, for a total transaction of $197,005.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 9,323 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,605,219.12. The trade was a 7.03% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 46,553 shares of company stock worth $12,897,323 over the last three months. Company insiders own 3.20% of the company's stock.

Salesforce Stock Down 0.7%

CRM traded down $1.89 during trading on Friday, hitting $265.03. The stock had a trading volume of 12,373,506 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,670,055. Salesforce, Inc. has a twelve month low of $227.77 and a twelve month high of $369.00. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $267.31 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $304.30. 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 company has a market capitalization of $254.80 billion, a PE ratio of 43.59, a PEG ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 1.42.

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 the consensus estimate of $2.55 by $0.03. Salesforce had a net margin of 15.96% and a return on equity of 12.34%. The business 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 business's revenue for the quarter was up 7.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts predict that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.46 earnings per share for the current year.

Salesforce Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 24th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 10th were paid a dividend of $0.42 per share. This is an increase from Salesforce's previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.63%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 10th. Salesforce's payout ratio is presently 25.98%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have commented on CRM. Oppenheimer reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $370.00 price objective (down previously from $380.00) on shares of Salesforce in a report on Thursday. Bank of America lowered their price target on shares of Salesforce from $440.00 to $400.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price target on shares of Salesforce from $425.00 to $375.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Monday, March 31st. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Salesforce from $255.00 to $275.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald assumed coverage on shares of Salesforce in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $210.00 price target for the company. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, twenty-eight have assigned a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Salesforce currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $343.32.

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.