Mather Group LLC. Grows Stock Holdings in Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Mather Group LLC. boosted its stake in Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM - Free Report) by 198.7% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 10,235 shares of the CRM provider's stock after purchasing an additional 6,809 shares during the period. Mather Group LLC.'s holdings in Salesforce were worth $2,747,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Mainstream Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Salesforce by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Mainstream Capital Management LLC now owns 6,409 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $2,143,000 after acquiring an additional 33 shares during the period. Wulff Hansen & CO. grew its holdings in Salesforce by 3.5% during the 4th quarter. Wulff Hansen & CO. now owns 1,035 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $346,000 after acquiring an additional 35 shares during the period. Seven Mile Advisory grew its holdings in Salesforce by 2.3% during the 4th quarter. Seven Mile Advisory now owns 1,762 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $589,000 after acquiring an additional 39 shares during the period. Kozak & Associates Inc. grew its holdings in Salesforce by 1.6% during the 1st quarter. Kozak & Associates Inc. now owns 2,571 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $654,000 after acquiring an additional 41 shares during the period. Finally, Meridian Wealth Partners LLC grew its holdings in Salesforce by 5.3% during the 4th quarter. Meridian Wealth Partners LLC now owns 834 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $279,000 after acquiring an additional 42 shares during the period. 80.43% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Salesforce

In related news, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 261 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $262.35, for a total value of $68,473.35. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 12,024 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,154,496.40. The trade was a 2.12% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Miguel Milano sold 405 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $262.35, for a total transaction of $106,251.75. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 9,933 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,605,922.55. This represents a 3.92% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 28,534 shares of company stock worth $7,609,842 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 3.20% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have weighed in on CRM shares. Sanford C. Bernstein increased their price target on Salesforce from $243.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock an "underperform" rating in a report on Thursday, May 29th. Citigroup reduced their target price on Salesforce from $320.00 to $295.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 30th. Westpark Capital reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $320.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Wednesday, May 28th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Salesforce from $255.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 29th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and set a $325.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Thursday, June 26th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, twenty-eight have issued a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Salesforce currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $349.08.

Salesforce Stock Performance

Shares of Salesforce stock traded up $2.37 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $271.58. 5,031,804 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,543,799. Salesforce Inc. has a 12 month low of $230.00 and a 12 month high of $369.00. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $272.28 and a 200 day simple moving average of $291.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a current ratio of 1.07. The company has a market capitalization of $259.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 42.50, a P/E/G ratio of 2.47 and a beta of 1.36.

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

Salesforce Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 10th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, June 18th will be paid a dividend of $0.416 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, June 18th. This represents a $1.66 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.61%. Salesforce's payout ratio is currently 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.