Simplicity Wealth LLC Buys 4,021 Shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Simplicity Wealth LLC increased its stake in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM - Free Report) by 260.8% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 5,563 shares of the CRM provider's stock after buying an additional 4,021 shares during the quarter. Simplicity Wealth LLC's holdings in Salesforce were worth $1,493,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. acquired a new position in shares of Salesforce during the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Accredited Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Salesforce during the fourth quarter valued at about $27,000. Arlington Trust Co LLC boosted its stake in Salesforce by 85.1% in the 4th quarter. Arlington Trust Co LLC now owns 87 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 40 shares in the last quarter. Asset Planning Inc acquired a new stake in shares of Salesforce during the fourth quarter worth $31,000. Finally, Collier Financial acquired a new stake in shares of Salesforce during the fourth quarter worth about $32,000. 80.43% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently commented on CRM. Robert W. Baird decreased 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. 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. Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $243.00 to $255.00 and gave the company an "underperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 29th. Loop Capital reduced their price target on Salesforce from $330.00 to $300.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, Guggenheim upgraded Salesforce from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, April 21st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given 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.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $346.34.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider R David Schmaier sold 6,959 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $253.31, for a total transaction of $1,762,784.29. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 36,090 shares of the company's stock, valued at $9,141,957.90. This trade represents a 16.17% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Srinivas Tallapragada sold 6,697 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 41,422 shares in the company, valued at $12,219,490. This trade represents a 13.92% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 40,332 shares of company stock valued at $11,024,802 over the last ninety days. 3.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Salesforce Stock Performance

CRM stock traded up $0.86 during trading on Thursday, reaching $266.77. 3,249,578 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,566,134. Salesforce, Inc. has a twelve month low of $227.77 and a twelve month high of $369.00. The company has a market capitalization of $255.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 43.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 1.38. The company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $267.35 and a 200-day simple moving average of $301.22.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 28th. The CRM provider reported $2.58 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.55 by $0.03. Salesforce had a net margin of 15.96% and a return on equity of 12.34%. The business had revenue of $9.83 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.74 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.44 EPS. Salesforce's revenue for the quarter was up 7.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate 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. Investors of record on Wednesday, June 18th will be issued a dividend of $0.416 per share. This represents a $1.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.62%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, June 18th. 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.