Private Advisor Group LLC Has $20.92 Million Stake in Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Private Advisor Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM - Free Report) by 10.6% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 77,943 shares of the CRM provider's stock after acquiring an additional 7,490 shares during the quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC's holdings in Salesforce were worth $20,917,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of CRM. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. purchased a new position in Salesforce during the 4th quarter worth $25,000. Accredited Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Salesforce in the fourth quarter valued at about $27,000. Capital A Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in Salesforce by 450.0% in the first quarter. Capital A Wealth Management LLC now owns 110 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 90 shares during the period. Abound Financial LLC acquired a new stake in Salesforce in the first quarter valued at about $31,000. Finally, Wood Tarver Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in Salesforce in the fourth quarter valued at about $35,000. 80.43% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Salesforce

In other Salesforce news, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 1,525 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $253.66, for a total value of $386,831.50. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 12,211 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,097,442.26. The trade was a 11.10% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider R David Schmaier sold 4,586 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $253.66, for a total transaction of $1,163,284.76. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 33,273 shares of the company's stock, valued at $8,440,029.18. This represents a 12.11% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 33,819 shares of company stock valued at $9,111,823. Corporate insiders own 3.20% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CRM has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $340.00 to $385.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, May 29th. Jefferies Financial Group cut their target price on shares of Salesforce from $425.00 to $375.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 31st. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $400.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Wednesday, May 28th. Mizuho decreased their price target on shares of Salesforce from $425.00 to $380.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 15th. Finally, Northland Securities dropped their price target on shares of Salesforce from $423.00 to $396.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 29th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, twenty-seven have issued a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $348.16.

Salesforce Stock Performance

CRM stock traded up $2.52 during trading on Friday, hitting $262.40. The company had a trading volume of 6,376,432 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,563,887. The firm has a market cap of $250.85 billion, a PE ratio of 41.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.38 and a beta of 1.36. Salesforce Inc. has a 1-year low of $230.00 and a 1-year high of $369.00. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $270.45 and a 200-day moving average price of $286.17. The company has a quick ratio of 1.07, a current ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results 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. 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 analysts' expectations of $9.74 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.44 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 7.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect 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 was paid on Thursday, July 10th. Investors of record on Wednesday, June 18th were given a $0.416 dividend. This represents a $1.66 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.63%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, June 18th. Salesforce's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 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.