NewEdge Wealth LLC Sells 4,537 Shares of Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Key Points

• NewEdge Wealth LLC reduced its stake in Salesforce Inc. by 2.1%, selling 4,537 shares, and now holds 209,788 shares valued at approximately $56.3 million.
• CEO Marc Benioff sold 2,250 shares of Salesforce for about $598,000, reducing his ownership by 0.02% to 11,911,571 shares.
• Salesforce's stock has seen a recent price target reduction from $350 to $335 by BMO Capital Markets while still maintaining an "outperform" rating.

NewEdge Wealth LLC lowered its stake in Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM - Free Report) by 2.1% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 209,788 shares of the CRM provider's stock after selling 4,537 shares during the quarter. Salesforce comprises 1.0% of NewEdge Wealth LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 16th largest position. NewEdge Wealth LLC's holdings in Salesforce were worth $56,299,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Liberty One Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 1.2% during the first quarter. Liberty One Investment Management LLC now owns 3,165 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $849,000 after buying an additional 39 shares in the last quarter. First Command Advisory Services Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 7.3% during the first quarter. First Command Advisory Services Inc. now owns 572 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $154,000 after buying an additional 39 shares in the last quarter. Mendel Money Management increased its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 3.6% during the first quarter. Mendel Money Management now owns 1,112 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $298,000 after buying an additional 39 shares in the last quarter. Clarity Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 2.3% during the first quarter. Clarity Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,760 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $472,000 after buying an additional 40 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mowery & Schoenfeld Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 5.2% during the first quarter. Mowery & Schoenfeld Wealth Management LLC now owns 812 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $218,000 after buying an additional 40 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.43% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently weighed in on CRM shares. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and set a $404.00 price objective (up previously from $393.00) on shares of Salesforce in a report on Thursday, May 29th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on shares of Salesforce from $340.00 to $385.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, May 29th. Canaccord Genuity Group lowered their price target on shares of Salesforce from $400.00 to $350.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, May 28th. Cantor Fitzgerald lowered shares of Salesforce from an "overweight" rating to a "cautious" rating in a report on Thursday, July 10th. Finally, Stephens lowered their price target on shares of Salesforce from $311.00 to $309.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 30th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, twenty-seven have given a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Salesforce presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $348.16.

Salesforce Stock Performance

Shares of Salesforce stock traded down $7.48 during trading on Friday, hitting $250.85. 7,643,247 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,950,044. The stock has a market capitalization of $239.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 1.37. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $266.04 and a 200-day moving average price of $281.65. Salesforce Inc. has a 1-year low of $230.00 and a 1-year high of $369.00. 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 released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 28th. The CRM provider reported $2.58 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.55 by $0.03. Salesforce had a net margin of 16.08% and a return on equity of 12.94%. The company had revenue of $9.83 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.74 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.44 EPS. Salesforce's revenue for the quarter was up 7.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that Salesforce Inc. will post 7.46 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 10th. Investors of record on Wednesday, June 18th were paid a $0.416 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, June 18th. This represents a $1.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.7%. Salesforce's dividend payout ratio is 25.98%.

Insider Transactions at Salesforce

In other news, CEO Marc Benioff sold 2,250 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $259.67, for a total transaction of $584,257.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 11,955,566 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,104,501,823.22. This represents a 0.02% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Srinivas Tallapragada sold 6,697 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $295.00, for a total transaction of $1,975,615.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 41,422 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $12,219,490. This trade represents a 13.92% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 39,729 shares of company stock worth $10,763,881. 3.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.