Merit Financial Group LLC Purchases 5,965 Shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Merit Financial Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM - Free Report) by 30.5% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 25,546 shares of the CRM provider's stock after acquiring an additional 5,965 shares during the quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC's holdings in Salesforce were worth $6,856,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Salesforce by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 19,955,353 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $6,656,078,000 after purchasing an additional 175,035 shares in the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its stake in Salesforce by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 12,453,872 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $4,163,703,000 after purchasing an additional 177,321 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp increased its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 18.3% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 11,224,927 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $3,752,830,000 after purchasing an additional 1,736,667 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Salesforce during the 4th quarter worth $3,599,867,000. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its position in Salesforce by 23.2% in the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 8,938,536 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $2,988,422,000 after purchasing an additional 1,683,233 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.43% of the company's stock.

Salesforce Stock Performance

Salesforce stock traded up $7.34 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $274.48. 7,500,949 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,590,016. The stock has a market cap of $262.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 45.14, a P/E/G ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 1.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a current ratio of 1.11. Salesforce, Inc. has a 52-week low of $227.77 and a 52-week high of $369.00. The firm's 50 day moving average is $266.57 and its 200 day moving average is $302.58.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 28th. The CRM provider reported $2.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.55 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $9.83 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $9.74 billion. Salesforce had a return on equity of 12.34% and a net margin of 15.96%. The business's revenue was up 7.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.44 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.46 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 10th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, June 18th will be given a dividend of $0.416 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, June 18th. This represents a $1.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.61%. Salesforce's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 25.98%.

Insider Transactions at Salesforce

In other Salesforce news, insider R David Schmaier sold 6,959 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $253.31, for a total value of $1,762,784.29. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 36,090 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $9,141,957.90. This trade represents a 16.17% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Amy E. Weaver sold 6,221 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $277.37, for a total value of $1,725,518.77. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 46,750 shares in the company, valued at $12,967,047.50. This represents a 11.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 40,332 shares of company stock valued at $11,024,802. Company insiders own 3.20% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have issued reports on CRM. Stephens dropped their price objective on Salesforce from $311.00 to $309.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 30th. Northland Securities dropped their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $423.00 to $396.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 29th. Mizuho cut their price target on Salesforce from $425.00 to $380.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 15th. Bank of America dropped their target price on shares of Salesforce from $440.00 to $400.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, Guggenheim raised Salesforce from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, April 21st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating, twenty-seven have assigned a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $346.34.

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.