Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM) Shares Bought by Puzo Michael J

Puzo Michael J raised its position in shares of Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM - Free Report) by 99.5% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 11,124 shares of the CRM provider's stock after acquiring an additional 5,548 shares during the period. Puzo Michael J's holdings in Salesforce were worth $2,985,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Salesforce news, insider Parker Harris sold 3,273 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $284.58, for a total value of $931,430.34. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 125,146 shares in the company, valued at $35,614,048.68. This represents a 2.55% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Miguel Milano sold 705 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, May 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $279.44, for a total value of $197,005.20. Following the sale, the insider now owns 9,323 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,605,219.12. This trade represents a 7.03% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 34,111 shares of company stock worth $9,299,283 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 3.20% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently commented on CRM. Robert W. Baird cut their price target on Salesforce from $430.00 to $400.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Sanford C. Bernstein boosted their price target on Salesforce from $243.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock an "underperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 29th. Stephens cut their price objective on Salesforce from $311.00 to $309.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 30th. Canaccord Genuity Group cut their price objective on Salesforce from $400.00 to $350.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, May 28th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on Salesforce from $340.00 to $385.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 29th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, twenty-eight have assigned a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $349.08.

Salesforce Stock Performance

CRM stock traded down $3.78 on Thursday, reaching $258.98. The company's stock had a trading volume of 7,623,720 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,535,521. Salesforce Inc. has a 52 week low of $230.00 and a 52 week high of $369.00. The company has a market capitalization of $247.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 1.38. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $268.39 and a two-hundred day moving average of $298.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a current ratio of 1.07 and a quick ratio of 1.07.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 28th. The CRM provider reported $2.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.55 by $0.03. Salesforce had a return on equity of 12.94% and a net margin of 16.08%. The business had revenue of $9.83 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.74 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.44 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 7.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts predict that Salesforce Inc. will post 7.46 EPS for the current fiscal 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 given a $0.416 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, June 18th. This represents a $1.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.64%. Salesforce's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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.