Twin Capital Management Inc. Sells 7,444 Shares of Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Twin Capital Management Inc. cut its stake in Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM - Free Report) by 32.5% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 15,458 shares of the CRM provider's stock after selling 7,444 shares during the period. Twin Capital Management Inc.'s holdings in Salesforce were worth $4,148,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in CRM. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. bought a new position in shares of Salesforce in the 4th quarter worth $25,000. Accredited Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Salesforce in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Wood Tarver Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Salesforce during the 4th quarter worth about $35,000. Capital A Wealth Management LLC increased its position 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 worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 90 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC raised its position in Salesforce by 314.8% during the first quarter. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 112 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 85 shares in the last quarter. 80.43% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently commented on the stock. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price target on shares of Salesforce from $350.00 to $335.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. Stephens decreased their target price on Salesforce from $311.00 to $309.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 30th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an "overweight" rating and issued a $404.00 price objective (up previously from $393.00) on shares of Salesforce in a report on Thursday, May 29th. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $400.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a report on Wednesday, May 28th. Finally, DA Davidson reaffirmed an "underperform" rating and set a $200.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Wednesday, May 28th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, twenty-seven have issued a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $348.16.

Insider Transactions at Salesforce

In related news, insider Srinivas Tallapragada sold 6,697 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $295.00, for a total value of $1,975,615.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 41,422 shares in the company, valued at $12,219,490. The trade was a 13.92% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider R David Schmaier sold 4,586 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $253.66, for a total transaction of $1,163,284.76. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 33,273 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,440,029.18. This trade represents a 12.11% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 36,069 shares of company stock worth $9,698,893. Insiders own 3.20% of the company's stock.

Salesforce Price Performance

Shares of Salesforce stock traded up $0.65 on Tuesday, reaching $262.93. The stock had a trading volume of 3,046,325 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,551,198. Salesforce Inc. has a 1 year low of $230.00 and a 1 year high of $369.00. The company has a market cap of $251.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 41.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.38 and a beta of 1.36. The company has a current ratio of 1.07, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. The business's 50 day moving average is $270.45 and its two-hundred day moving average is $285.85.

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

Salesforce Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 10th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, June 18th were paid a dividend of $0.416 per share. 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 presently 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.