Pin Oak Investment Advisors Inc. Buys 12,040 Shares of Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Key Points

• Pin Oak Investment Advisors Inc. significantly increased its holding in Salesforce Inc. by 7,209.6%, acquiring an additional 12,040 shares, bringing its total to 12,207 shares valued at approximately $3.3 million.
• Salesforce's recent quarterly earnings topped analysts' expectations with $2.58 earnings per share and reported revenues of $9.83 billion, reflecting a 7.6% year-over-year growth.
• CEO Marc Benioff recently sold 2,250 shares of Salesforce stock, marking a 0.02% decrease in his ownership, while other insiders also sold shares totaling over $9 million in the past three months.

Pin Oak Investment Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM - Free Report) by 7,209.6% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 12,207 shares of the CRM provider's stock after purchasing an additional 12,040 shares during the quarter. Salesforce comprises approximately 2.6% of Pin Oak Investment Advisors Inc.'s portfolio, making the stock its 11th biggest holding. Pin Oak Investment Advisors Inc.'s holdings in Salesforce were worth $3,296,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of CRM. Delaney Dennis R raised its stake in shares of Salesforce by 66.1% during the first quarter. Delaney Dennis R now owns 5,694 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $1,528,000 after acquiring an additional 2,266 shares in the last quarter. Journey Strategic Wealth LLC raised its stake in shares of Salesforce by 34.5% during the first quarter. Journey Strategic Wealth LLC now owns 4,948 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $1,328,000 after acquiring an additional 1,270 shares in the last quarter. ARK Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Salesforce during the first quarter worth approximately $20,179,000. Notis McConarty Edward raised its stake in shares of Salesforce by 71.6% during the first quarter. Notis McConarty Edward now owns 3,844 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $1,032,000 after acquiring an additional 1,604 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Assetmark Inc. raised its stake in shares of Salesforce by 7.9% during the first quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 187,934 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $50,434,000 after acquiring an additional 13,694 shares in the last quarter. 80.43% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Salesforce Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE CRM traded down $4.09 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $260.72. 3,477,764 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 7,071,274. Salesforce Inc. has a 1 year low of $230.00 and a 1 year high of $369.00. The stock has a market capitalization of $249.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.43 and a beta of 1.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a current ratio of 1.07. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $266.97 and a 200 day moving average of $283.11.

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 for the quarter, beating 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 business had revenue of $9.83 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.74 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.44 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 7.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts forecast that Salesforce Inc. will post 7.46 earnings per share for the current year.

Salesforce Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 10th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, June 18th were issued a dividend of $0.416 per share. This represents a $1.66 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.64%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, June 18th. Salesforce's dividend payout ratio is currently 25.98%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have commented on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on shares of Salesforce from $340.00 to $385.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 29th. Mizuho decreased their price target on shares of Salesforce from $425.00 to $380.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 15th. DA Davidson reissued an "underperform" rating and set a $200.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Wednesday, May 28th. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued a "sector perform" rating and set a $275.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Monday, July 14th. Finally, UBS Group set a $404.00 target price on shares of Salesforce and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 18th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $348.16.

Insider Activity at Salesforce

In other Salesforce news, CEO Marc Benioff sold 2,250 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $271.69, for a total transaction of $611,302.50. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 11,862,457 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,222,910,942.33. The trade was a 0.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Srinivas Tallapragada sold 6,697 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $295.00, for a total transaction of $1,975,615.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 41,422 shares in the company, valued at $12,219,490. This represents a 13.92% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 37,979 shares of company stock worth $10,303,399 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 3.20% of the company's stock.

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.