Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM) Shares Purchased by Sierra Capital LLC

Sierra Capital LLC boosted its position in Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM - Free Report) by 52.3% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,639 shares of the CRM provider's stock after purchasing an additional 1,249 shares during the quarter. Sierra Capital LLC's holdings in Salesforce were worth $977,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of CRM. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its position in shares of Salesforce by 13.7% during the fourth 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 position in Salesforce by 12.6% in the fourth quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 1,827 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $611,000 after purchasing an additional 205 shares during the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Salesforce by 70.4% in the fourth quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 2,791 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $933,000 after buying an additional 1,153 shares during the period. Edgestream Partners L.P. bought a new position in shares of Salesforce in the fourth quarter worth about $1,476,000. Finally, AlphaQuest LLC bought a new position in shares of Salesforce in the fourth quarter worth about $813,000. 80.43% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently issued reports on CRM shares. Stephens decreased their target price 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. Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on Salesforce from $315.00 to $335.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 28th. Northland Securities dropped their target price on Salesforce from $423.00 to $396.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 29th. Barclays dropped their price objective on Salesforce from $425.00 to $347.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 29th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets dropped their price objective on Salesforce from $350.00 to $335.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Thursday. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, twenty-seven have given a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $348.68.

Insider Activity at Salesforce

In other news, CEO Marc Benioff sold 2,250 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $272.48, for a total value of $613,080.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 11,862,457 shares in the company, valued at $3,232,282,283.36. This trade represents a 0.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 1,525 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $253.66, for a total value of $386,831.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 12,211 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,097,442.26. This trade represents a 11.10% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 33,034 shares of company stock valued at $8,833,235 in the last ninety days. 3.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Salesforce Stock Performance

Shares of CRM traded down $6.97 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $263.95. The company had a trading volume of 7,039,123 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,543,046. Salesforce Inc. has a 52-week low of $230.00 and a 52-week high of $369.00. The company has a quick ratio of 1.07, a current ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. The stock has a market capitalization of $252.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 41.31, a PEG ratio of 2.48 and a beta of 1.36. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $272.54 and a two-hundred day moving average of $290.38.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, May 28th. The CRM provider reported $2.58 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.55 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $9.83 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.44 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that Salesforce Inc. will post 7.46 earnings per share for the current year.

Salesforce Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 10th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, June 18th will be given a dividend of $0.416 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, June 18th. This represents a $1.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.63%. Salesforce's dividend payout ratio is currently 25.98%.

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.