Retirement Systems of Alabama Reduces Holdings in Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Retirement Systems of Alabama decreased its position in shares of Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM - Free Report) by 0.6% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 205,649 shares of the CRM provider's stock after selling 1,333 shares during the quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama's holdings in Salesforce were worth $55,188,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. acquired a new stake in shares of Salesforce during the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Accredited Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Salesforce during the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Salesforce during the fourth quarter worth about $35,000. Wood Tarver Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Salesforce during the fourth quarter worth about $35,000. Finally, VSM Wealth Advisory LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Salesforce during the fourth quarter worth about $45,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.43% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on CRM shares. Robert W. Baird decreased their target price on shares of Salesforce from $430.00 to $400.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Stephens decreased their target price on shares of Salesforce from $311.00 to $309.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 30th. Northland Securities decreased their target price 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. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their target price on shares of Salesforce from $425.00 to $375.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, DA Davidson restated an "underperform" rating and issued a $200.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Wednesday, May 28th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, twenty-eight have issued a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $349.08.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Salesforce news, insider R David Schmaier sold 6,959 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $253.31, for a total value of $1,762,784.29. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 36,090 shares in the company, valued at $9,141,957.90. This trade represents a 16.17% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Miguel Milano sold 705 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction on Friday, May 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $279.44, for a total transaction of $197,005.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 9,323 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,605,219.12. This trade represents a 7.03% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 34,111 shares of company stock valued at $9,299,283. Company insiders own 3.20% of the company's stock.

Salesforce Stock Down 1.4%

CRM stock opened at $258.98 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $247.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.53, a PEG ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 1.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a current ratio of 1.07. Salesforce Inc. has a one year low of $230.00 and a one year high of $369.00. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $268.39 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $298.23.

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 the consensus estimate of $2.55 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $9.83 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $9.74 billion. Salesforce had a net margin of 16.08% and a return on equity of 12.94%. Salesforce's revenue for the quarter was up 7.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.44 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Salesforce Inc. will post 7.46 EPS for the current year.

Salesforce Cuts Dividend

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

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.

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