Northstar Asset Management Inc. Sells 1,136 Shares of Salesforce Inc. $CRM

Key Points

• Northstar Asset Management Inc. reduced its stake in Salesforce Inc. by 3.2%, now holding 34,809 shares valued at approximately $9.34 million.
• CEO Marc Benioff sold 2,250 shares at an average price of $234.64, decreasing his position slightly to 11,911,571 shares, worth nearly $2.8 billion.
• Salesforce's quarterly earnings exceeded estimates, reporting $2.58 EPS on $9.83 billion revenue, a 7.6% increase year-over-year.

Northstar Asset Management Inc. cut its stake in Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM - Free Report) by 3.2% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 34,809 shares of the CRM provider's stock after selling 1,136 shares during the period. Salesforce accounts for approximately 2.8% of Northstar Asset Management Inc.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 17th largest holding. Northstar Asset Management Inc.'s holdings in Salesforce were worth $9,341,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CRM. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. bought a new position in Salesforce during the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. Accredited Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Salesforce during the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Capital A Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 450.0% during the 1st quarter. Capital A Wealth Management LLC now owns 110 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 90 shares during the last quarter. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC raised its stake in shares of Salesforce by 314.8% in the 1st quarter. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 112 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 85 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Abound Financial LLC bought a new position in Salesforce in the 1st quarter worth approximately $31,000. 80.43% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on CRM. Needham & Company LLC restated a "buy" rating and set a $400.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Wednesday, May 28th. Mizuho dropped their price objective on Salesforce from $425.00 to $380.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 15th. UBS Group lowered their price target on Salesforce from $300.00 to $260.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Monday. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed a "sector perform" rating and set a $275.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Monday. Finally, Oppenheimer reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $370.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Tuesday, June 10th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating, twenty-six have given a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Salesforce presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $342.89.

Insider Buying and Selling at Salesforce

In other Salesforce news, CEO Marc Benioff sold 2,250 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $241.49, for a total transaction of $543,352.50. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 11,911,571 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,876,525,280.79. The trade was a 0.02% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 48,782 shares of company stock worth $12,626,046. Company insiders own 3.00% of the company's stock.

Salesforce Price Performance

Shares of CRM traded up $1.71 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $244.15. The company's stock had a trading volume of 8,802,889 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,312,840. Salesforce Inc. has a one year low of $226.48 and a one year high of $369.00. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $259.85 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $274.14. The company has a quick ratio of 1.07, a current ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. The stock has a market capitalization of $233.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.20 and a beta of 1.37.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 28th. The CRM provider reported $2.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.55 by $0.03. Salesforce had a return on equity of 12.94% and a net margin of 16.08%. The company had revenue of $9.83 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.74 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.44 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 7.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts expect that Salesforce Inc. will post 7.46 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 10th. Investors of record on Wednesday, June 18th were issued a dividend of $0.416 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, June 18th. This represents a $1.66 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.7%. Salesforce's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 25.98%.

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.