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

Sierra Capital LLC lifted its position in shares of Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM - Free Report) by 52.3% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,639 shares of the CRM provider's stock after buying 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 have also recently made changes to their positions in CRM. Millstone Evans Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Salesforce in the 4th quarter worth $823,000. Heartland Bank & Trust Co grew its stake in Salesforce by 117.2% in the first quarter. Heartland Bank & Trust Co now owns 5,981 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $1,605,000 after purchasing an additional 3,227 shares during the last quarter. Catalyst Funds Management Pty Ltd purchased a new position in Salesforce in the fourth quarter valued at about $5,249,000. Elwood Capital Partners LP bought a new position in Salesforce in the fourth quarter worth about $1,337,000. Finally, Strategic Blueprint LLC lifted its position in shares of Salesforce by 13.5% during the first quarter. Strategic Blueprint LLC now owns 23,828 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $6,394,000 after buying an additional 2,837 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.43% of the company's stock.

Salesforce Trading Down 2.2%

Salesforce stock traded down $5.74 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $258.23. The company's stock had a trading volume of 7,004,264 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,540,561. The stock's fifty day moving average is $272.09 and its two-hundred day moving average is $289.24. The company has a current ratio of 1.07, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. The firm has a market capitalization of $246.87 billion, a PE ratio of 40.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 1.36. Salesforce Inc. has a 1 year low of $230.00 and a 1 year high of $369.00.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 28th. The CRM provider reported $2.58 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.55 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $9.83 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations 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 in the prior year, the business posted $2.44 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that Salesforce Inc. will post 7.46 EPS 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 issued a $0.416 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, June 18th. This represents a $1.66 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.64%. Salesforce's dividend payout ratio is currently 25.98%.

Insider Activity at Salesforce

In other Salesforce news, insider Srinivas Tallapragada sold 6,697 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $295.00, for a total transaction of $1,975,615.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 41,422 shares in the company, valued at $12,219,490. This represents a 13.92% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 1,525 shares of the business's stock in a transaction 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 sale, the chief accounting officer owned 12,211 shares in the company, valued at $3,097,442.26. This represents a 11.10% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 35,284 shares of company stock worth $9,444,537. Company insiders own 3.20% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently commented on the stock. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $400.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Wednesday, May 28th. Scotiabank reduced their price target on Salesforce from $400.00 to $345.00 and set a "sector outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 17th. DA Davidson reiterated an "underperform" rating and set a $200.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a report on Wednesday, May 28th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price 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, Piper Sandler upped their target price on Salesforce from $315.00 to $335.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 28th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, twenty-seven have issued a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $348.16.

Salesforce Company 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.