Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM) Shares Bought by Liberty Wealth Management LLC

Key Points

• Liberty Wealth Management LLC significantly boosted its stake in Salesforce by 15,681%, acquiring a total of 287,372 shares valued at approximately $77 million.
• Salesforce reported a quarterly earnings per share (EPS) of $2.58, exceeding estimates, with revenue of $9.83 billion, reflecting a 7.6% increase year-over-year.
• CEO Marc Benioff sold 2,250 shares of Salesforce stock recently, reducing his holdings slightly, while institutional investors currently own 80.43% of the company's stock.

Liberty Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM - Free Report) by 15,681.0% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 287,372 shares of the CRM provider's stock after purchasing an additional 285,551 shares during the quarter. Salesforce makes up approximately 1.4% of Liberty Wealth Management LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 19th biggest position. Liberty Wealth Management LLC's holdings in Salesforce were worth $77,119,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of CRM. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. purchased a new stake in Salesforce in the 4th quarter worth $25,000. Accredited Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Salesforce in the 4th quarter worth $27,000. Capital A Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in Salesforce by 450.0% in the 1st quarter. Capital A Wealth Management LLC now owns 110 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 90 shares in the last quarter. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC increased its stake in Salesforce by 314.8% in the 1st quarter. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 112 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 85 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Abound Financial LLC purchased a new stake in Salesforce in the 1st quarter worth $31,000. 80.43% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Salesforce Trading Down 2.9%

Shares of NYSE:CRM traded down $7.48 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $250.85. 7,643,247 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,950,044. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a current ratio of 1.07 and a quick ratio of 1.07. The firm has a market cap of $239.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.26, a P/E/G ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 1.37. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $266.04 and its 200 day simple moving average is $281.65. 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 issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 28th. The CRM provider reported $2.58 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 analysts' expectations of $9.74 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.44 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 7.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that Salesforce Inc. will post 7.46 EPS for the current year.

Salesforce Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 10th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, June 18th were issued a $0.416 dividend. This represents a $1.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, June 18th. Salesforce's dividend payout ratio is presently 25.98%.

Insider Activity at Salesforce

In other news, CEO Marc Benioff sold 2,250 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $265.77, for a total value of $597,982.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 11,911,571 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,165,738,224.67. This represents a 0.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders have sold 39,729 shares of company stock valued at $10,763,881 over the last three months. 3.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CRM has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on shares of Salesforce from $340.00 to $385.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, May 29th. Canaccord Genuity Group lowered their price target on shares of Salesforce from $400.00 to $350.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, May 28th. Mizuho lowered their price target on shares of Salesforce from $425.00 to $380.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 15th. DA Davidson reaffirmed an "underperform" rating and issued a $200.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a report on Wednesday, May 28th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed a "sector perform" rating and issued a $275.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a report on Monday, July 14th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, twenty-seven have given a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $348.16.

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.