Boston Common Asset Management LLC Increases Position in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Boston Common Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM - Free Report) by 17.5% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 80,259 shares of the CRM provider's stock after purchasing an additional 11,958 shares during the period. Boston Common Asset Management LLC's holdings in Salesforce were worth $21,538,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Nvest Financial LLC grew its holdings in Salesforce by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. Nvest Financial LLC now owns 2,806 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $938,000 after purchasing an additional 31 shares during the period. OMC Financial Services LTD lifted its position in shares of Salesforce by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. OMC Financial Services LTD now owns 11,390 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $3,808,000 after buying an additional 31 shares in the last quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC grew its stake in Salesforce by 4.1% in the 4th quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 787 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $263,000 after acquiring an additional 31 shares during the period. Prossimo Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Salesforce by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Prossimo Advisors LLC now owns 3,366 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $1,125,000 after acquiring an additional 32 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Muirfield Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Salesforce by 2.3% in the 4th quarter. Muirfield Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,457 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $487,000 after acquiring an additional 33 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.43% of the company's stock.

Salesforce Trading Down 0.7%

Shares of Salesforce stock traded down $1.89 on Friday, reaching $265.03. The company had a trading volume of 12,373,506 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,670,055. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $267.31 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $304.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a current ratio of 1.11. Salesforce, Inc. has a 52-week low of $227.77 and a 52-week high of $369.00. The firm has a market cap of $254.80 billion, a PE ratio of 43.59, a PEG ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 1.42.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, May 28th. The CRM provider reported $2.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.55 by $0.03. Salesforce had a return on equity of 12.34% and a net margin of 15.96%. The company had revenue of $9.83 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.74 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.44 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 7.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.46 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 24th. Investors of record on Thursday, April 10th were issued a dividend of $0.42 per share. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.63%. This is a boost from Salesforce's previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 10th. Salesforce's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 25.98%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have issued reports on CRM. Oppenheimer reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $370.00 price objective (down from $380.00) on shares of Salesforce in a report on Thursday. 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. Northland Securities lowered their price objective on Salesforce from $423.00 to $396.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday. BMO Capital Markets reduced their target price on Salesforce from $367.00 to $350.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, May 27th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group lowered their price target on Salesforce from $400.00 to $350.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, twenty-eight have given a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $343.32.

Insider Buying and Selling at Salesforce

In other news, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 1,909 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, March 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $284.58, for a total transaction of $543,263.22. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 11,310 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,218,599.80. This represents a 14.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Amy E. Weaver sold 6,221 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $301.00, for a total value of $1,872,521.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 46,750 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $14,071,750. This trade represents a 11.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 46,553 shares of company stock valued at $12,897,323 in the last three months. 3.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.