Pallas Capital Advisors LLC Boosts Stake in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Pallas Capital Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM - Free Report) by 9.8% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 39,285 shares of the CRM provider's stock after purchasing an additional 3,497 shares during the period. Pallas Capital Advisors LLC's holdings in Salesforce were worth $10,542,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in CRM. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. purchased a new position in shares of Salesforce in the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Accredited Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Salesforce during the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Arlington Trust Co LLC grew its position in Salesforce by 85.1% during the 4th quarter. Arlington Trust Co LLC now owns 87 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 40 shares during the last quarter. Compass Financial Services Inc purchased a new position in Salesforce in the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. Finally, Asset Planning Inc bought a new stake in Salesforce in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Institutional investors own 80.43% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Miguel Milano sold 705 shares of Salesforce 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 completion of the sale, the insider now owns 9,323 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,605,219.12. The trade was a 7.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 1,909 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 24th. The shares were 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 in the company, 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 40,332 shares of company stock worth $11,024,802 over the last 90 days. 3.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Salesforce Stock Up 0.2%

CRM stock traded up $0.65 on Thursday, reaching $266.56. 8,047,893 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 6,585,847. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $267.35 and a 200-day simple moving average of $301.22. The company has a market cap of $254.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 43.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 1.38. Salesforce, Inc. has a one year low of $227.77 and a one year high of $369.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 1.11.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, May 28th. The CRM provider reported $2.58 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.55 by $0.03. The firm 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 company's quarterly revenue was up 7.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.44 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.46 earnings per share for the current 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 paid a $0.416 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, June 18th. This represents a $1.66 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.62%. Salesforce's dividend payout ratio is presently 25.98%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on CRM. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Salesforce from $255.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, May 29th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price target on shares of Salesforce from $425.00 to $375.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Monday, March 31st. Scotiabank dropped their price target on shares of Salesforce from $400.00 to $345.00 and set a "sector outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, March 17th. Erste Group Bank cut shares of Salesforce from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, June 5th. Finally, Northland Securities lowered 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. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating, twenty-seven have given a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Salesforce currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $346.34.

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.