Marion Wealth Management Buys 10,990 Shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Marion Wealth Management lifted its stake in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM - Free Report) by 1,027.1% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 12,060 shares of the CRM provider's stock after acquiring an additional 10,990 shares during the period. Salesforce makes up about 0.9% of Marion Wealth Management's holdings, making the stock its 29th largest holding. Marion Wealth Management's holdings in Salesforce were worth $3,237,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in CRM. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. bought a new stake in Salesforce during the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. Accredited Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Salesforce during the fourth quarter valued at $27,000. Arlington Trust Co LLC boosted its stake in Salesforce by 85.1% during the fourth quarter. Arlington Trust Co LLC now owns 87 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 40 shares during the period. Compass Financial Services Inc bought a new stake in Salesforce during the fourth quarter valued at $30,000. Finally, Asset Planning Inc bought a new stake in Salesforce during the fourth quarter valued at $31,000. 80.43% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Salesforce Trading Down 0.7%

NYSE:CRM traded down $1.89 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $265.03. 12,373,506 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 6,670,055. Salesforce, Inc. has a 12-month low of $227.77 and a 12-month high of $369.00. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $267.31 and a 200-day moving average price of $304.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 1.11. The firm has a market capitalization of $254.80 billion, a price-to-earnings 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 earnings results on Wednesday, May 28th. The CRM provider reported $2.58 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.55 by $0.03. Salesforce had a return on equity of 12.34% and a net margin of 15.96%. The firm had revenue of $9.83 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.74 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.44 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 7.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.46 earnings per share for the current year.

Salesforce Increases Dividend

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider R David Schmaier sold 6,959 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $253.31, for a total value of $1,762,784.29. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 36,090 shares of the company's stock, valued at $9,141,957.90. The trade was a 16.17% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Amy E. Weaver sold 6,221 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $301.00, for a total value of $1,872,521.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 46,750 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,071,750. This represents a 11.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 46,553 shares of company stock worth $12,897,323. Company insiders own 3.20% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Morgan Stanley reissued an "overweight" rating and set a $404.00 price objective (up previously from $393.00) on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Thursday. Guggenheim raised Salesforce from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, April 21st. Royal Bank of Canada lowered Salesforce from an "outperform" rating to a "sector perform" rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $420.00 to $275.00 in a research note on Thursday. Cantor Fitzgerald began coverage on Salesforce in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. They set an "overweight" rating and a $210.00 price target for the company. Finally, Barclays dropped their price target on Salesforce from $425.00 to $347.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, twenty-eight have assigned a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target 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.