Golden State Wealth Management LLC Raises Stock Holdings in Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Golden State Wealth Management LLC increased its position in Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM - Free Report) by 231.6% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 5,177 shares of the CRM provider's stock after acquiring an additional 3,616 shares during the quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC's holdings in Salesforce were worth $1,389,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of CRM. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. bought a new position in shares of Salesforce in the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. Accredited Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Salesforce in the 4th quarter worth $27,000. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Salesforce during the 4th quarter valued at $35,000. Wood Tarver Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Salesforce during the 4th quarter worth $35,000. Finally, VSM Wealth Advisory LLC purchased a new position in Salesforce in the fourth quarter worth $45,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.43% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CRM has been the topic of a number of research reports. DA Davidson restated an "underperform" rating and set a $200.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Wednesday, May 28th. Robert W. Baird dropped their target price on Salesforce from $430.00 to $400.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and issued a $404.00 target price (up previously from $393.00) on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Thursday, May 29th. Barclays decreased their price target on shares of Salesforce from $425.00 to $347.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 29th. Finally, Bank of America cut their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $440.00 to $400.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Two research 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 given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Salesforce currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $349.08.

Salesforce Stock Performance

NYSE:CRM traded up $1.98 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $272.72. 21,736,713 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 6,553,599. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $269.86 and its 200-day moving average price is $295.19. The company has a quick ratio of 1.07, a current ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. Salesforce Inc. has a one year low of $230.00 and a one year high of $369.00. The firm has a market cap of $260.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 1.38.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM - Get Free Report) last released 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 company had revenue of $9.83 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $9.74 billion. Salesforce had a net margin of 16.08% and a return on equity of 12.94%. The firm's revenue was up 7.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $2.44 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Salesforce Inc. will post 7.46 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 10th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, June 18th will be given a $0.416 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, June 18th. This represents a $1.66 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.61%. Salesforce's payout ratio is 25.98%.

Insider Transactions at Salesforce

In related news, insider Srinivas Tallapragada sold 6,697 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 14th. The shares were 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 owns 41,422 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,219,490. This represents a 13.92% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider R David Schmaier sold 6,959 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $253.31, for a total transaction of $1,762,784.29. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 36,090 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,141,957.90. This represents a 16.17% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 26,284 shares of company stock valued at $6,996,762 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 3.20% of the company's stock.

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.