Agate Pass Investment Management LLC Buys 1,364 Shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Agate Pass Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM - Free Report) by 18.9% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 8,585 shares of the CRM provider's stock after buying an additional 1,364 shares during the quarter. Agate Pass Investment Management LLC's holdings in Salesforce were worth $2,304,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CRM. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its position in Salesforce by 29.9% during the 1st quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 1,927 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $517,000 after purchasing an additional 444 shares during the last quarter. First Hawaiian Bank raised its position in shares of Salesforce by 6.3% in the first quarter. First Hawaiian Bank now owns 14,164 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $3,801,000 after buying an additional 838 shares during the last quarter. Boston Common Asset Management LLC raised its stake in Salesforce by 17.5% during the first quarter. Boston Common Asset Management LLC now owns 80,259 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $21,538,000 after purchasing an additional 11,958 shares during the period. Legacy Wealth Management LLC MS purchased a new position in Salesforce during the first quarter worth approximately $228,000. Finally, Park National Corp OH increased its position in shares of Salesforce by 2.6% in the first quarter. Park National Corp OH now owns 103,631 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $27,810,000 after acquiring an additional 2,598 shares in the last quarter. 80.43% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Loop Capital lowered their price target on shares of Salesforce from $330.00 to $300.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 27th. BMO Capital Markets cut their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $367.00 to $350.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday. Mizuho dropped their price target on shares of Salesforce from $425.00 to $380.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 15th. Cantor Fitzgerald began coverage on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $210.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $400.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Wednesday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, twenty-nine have assigned a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Salesforce currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $342.21.

Salesforce Stock Performance

Shares of Salesforce stock traded down $1.89 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $265.03. 12,373,506 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,790,645. The business has a 50-day moving average of $267.31 and a 200-day moving average of $304.75. The stock has a market capitalization of $254.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 43.59, a P/E/G ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 1.42. The company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. Salesforce, Inc. has a 1 year low of $216.06 and a 1 year high of $369.00.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM - Get Free Report) last posted its 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. The company had revenue of $9.83 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.74 billion. Salesforce had a return on equity of 12.34% and a net margin of 15.96%. Salesforce's revenue was up 7.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.44 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.46 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 24th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 10th were issued a dividend of $0.42 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 10th. This is an increase from Salesforce's previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.63%. Salesforce's payout ratio is currently 25.98%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Amy E. Weaver sold 6,221 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $301.00, for a total transaction of $1,872,521.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 46,750 shares of the company's stock, valued at $14,071,750. The trade was a 11.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider R David Schmaier sold 6,959 shares of the company's 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 directly owns 36,090 shares in the company, valued at $9,141,957.90. The trade was a 16.17% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 46,553 shares of company stock worth $12,897,323 in the last three months. 3.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.