Marietta Wealth Management LLC Boosts Stake in Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Marietta Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM - Free Report) by 3.9% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 25,546 shares of the CRM provider's stock after acquiring an additional 965 shares during the quarter. Marietta Wealth Management LLC's holdings in Salesforce were worth $6,856,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. acquired a new stake in shares of Salesforce during the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Accredited Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Salesforce in the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Salesforce during the 4th quarter worth $35,000. Wood Tarver Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in Salesforce in the fourth quarter valued at about $35,000. Finally, VSM Wealth Advisory LLC acquired a new position in Salesforce during the fourth quarter worth about $45,000. 80.43% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Salesforce Price Performance

Shares of Salesforce stock traded up $1.29 on Friday, hitting $260.79. 12,802,546 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 6,490,099. Salesforce Inc. has a 12-month low of $230.00 and a 12-month high of $369.00. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $268.51 and its 200 day simple moving average is $297.25. The company has a market cap of $249.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.81, a P/E/G ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 1.38. The company has a current ratio of 1.07, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 28th. The CRM provider reported $2.58 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 12.94% and a net margin of 16.08%. The company's revenue was up 7.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.44 EPS. Analysts expect that Salesforce Inc. will post 7.46 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 10th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, June 18th will be issued a $0.416 dividend. This represents a $1.66 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.64%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, June 18th. Salesforce's dividend payout ratio is 25.98%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently commented on CRM shares. Royal Bank Of Canada downgraded shares of Salesforce from an "outperform" rating to a "sector perform" rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $420.00 to $275.00 in a research note on Thursday, May 29th. Loop Capital lowered their target price on Salesforce from $330.00 to $300.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $400.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Wednesday, May 28th. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price target on shares of Salesforce from $425.00 to $375.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, March 31st. Finally, BMO Capital Markets cut their target price on Salesforce from $367.00 to $350.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, May 27th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, twenty-eight have issued a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Salesforce presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $349.08.

Insider Activity at Salesforce

In other news, insider Miguel Milano sold 705 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 directly owns 9,323 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,605,219.12. This represents a 7.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 1,909 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $284.58, for a total value of $543,263.22. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 11,310 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,218,599.80. This represents a 14.44% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 34,111 shares of company stock worth $9,299,283 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 3.20% of the company's stock.

Salesforce 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.