Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM) Position Increased by Crestwood Advisors Group LLC

Crestwood Advisors Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM - Free Report) by 0.7% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 299,581 shares of the CRM provider's stock after purchasing an additional 2,109 shares during the quarter. Salesforce accounts for about 1.5% of Crestwood Advisors Group LLC's holdings, making the stock its 11th biggest holding. Crestwood Advisors Group LLC's holdings in Salesforce were worth $80,396,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of CRM. Brighton Jones LLC raised its holdings in Salesforce by 13.7% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 25,668 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $8,582,000 after buying an additional 3,102 shares during the last quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 12.6% during the 4th quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 1,827 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $611,000 after acquiring an additional 205 shares during the last quarter. Sciencast Management LP bought a new position in shares of Salesforce in the 4th quarter worth approximately $262,000. AXQ Capital LP raised its stake in Salesforce by 135.1% during the 4th quarter. AXQ Capital LP now owns 2,111 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $706,000 after acquiring an additional 1,213 shares during the period. Finally, Fortis Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Salesforce by 29.3% in the 4th quarter. Fortis Capital Management LLC now owns 13,948 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $4,663,000 after acquiring an additional 3,164 shares during the last quarter. 80.43% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Salesforce Price Performance

Shares of CRM traded down $0.73 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $266.49. 2,424,622 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 7,147,398. The company has a market capitalization of $254.77 billion, a PE ratio of 41.74, a PEG ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 1.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a current ratio of 1.07 and a quick ratio of 1.07. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $268.96 and a 200-day simple moving average of $285.09. Salesforce Inc. has a one year low of $230.00 and a one year high of $369.00.

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

Salesforce Cuts Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 10th. Stockholders 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 0.62%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, June 18th. Salesforce's dividend payout ratio is presently 25.98%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Salesforce

In other news, CEO Marc Benioff sold 2,250 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, July 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $262.93, for a total value of $591,592.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 11,911,571 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,131,909,363.03. This trade represents a 0.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Miguel Milano sold 405 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, June 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $262.35, for a total value of $106,251.75. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 9,933 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,605,922.55. This trade represents a 3.92% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 31,229 shares of company stock valued at $8,492,036. Corporate insiders own 3.20% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Salesforce from $255.00 to $275.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, May 29th. Royal Bank Of Canada restated a "sector perform" rating and set a $275.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Monday, July 14th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price objective on Salesforce from $425.00 to $375.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 31st. Piper Sandler increased their price objective on Salesforce from $315.00 to $335.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 28th. Finally, Erste Group Bank cut Salesforce from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, June 5th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, twenty-seven have assigned a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $348.16.

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.