Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM) Position Increased by Souders Financial Advisors

Souders Financial Advisors boosted its holdings in shares of Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM - Free Report) by 65.3% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 6,913 shares of the CRM provider's stock after purchasing an additional 2,732 shares during the quarter. Souders Financial Advisors' holdings in Salesforce were worth $1,855,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in CRM. Millstone Evans Group LLC purchased a new stake in Salesforce in the 4th quarter worth $823,000. Heartland Bank & Trust Co lifted its position in shares of Salesforce by 117.2% during the first quarter. Heartland Bank & Trust Co now owns 5,981 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $1,605,000 after purchasing an additional 3,227 shares in the last quarter. Elwood Capital Partners LP acquired a new stake in Salesforce in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,337,000. Strategic Blueprint LLC raised its holdings in Salesforce by 13.5% during the first quarter. Strategic Blueprint LLC now owns 23,828 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $6,394,000 after purchasing an additional 2,837 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Czech National Bank raised its holdings in Salesforce by 6.0% during the first quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 219,808 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $58,988,000 after purchasing an additional 12,528 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.43% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on CRM shares. DA Davidson reiterated an "underperform" rating and issued a $200.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Wednesday, May 28th. Cantor Fitzgerald lowered Salesforce from an "overweight" rating to a "cautious" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. Guggenheim raised Salesforce from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, April 21st. Citigroup dropped their price target on Salesforce from $320.00 to $295.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 30th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on Salesforce from $340.00 to $385.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 29th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, twenty-seven have assigned a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $348.16.

Salesforce Stock Performance

Shares of CRM stock traded up $4.50 on Wednesday, hitting $268.09. 3,028,648 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 6,548,370. Salesforce Inc. has a 1-year low of $230.00 and a 1-year high of $369.00. The company has a market capitalization of $256.29 billion, a PE ratio of 41.93, a PEG ratio of 2.38 and a beta of 1.36. The company's fifty day moving average is $270.45 and its 200 day moving average is $285.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a current ratio of 1.07 and a quick ratio of 1.07.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 during 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 quarterly revenue was up 7.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.44 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict 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 was paid on Thursday, July 10th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, June 18th were given a $0.416 dividend. This represents a $1.66 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.62%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, June 18th. Salesforce's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 25.98%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Marc Benioff sold 2,250 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $262.93, for a total transaction of $591,592.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 11,911,571 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,131,909,363.03. This represents a 0.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Miguel Milano sold 405 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $262.35, for a total transaction of $106,251.75. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 9,933 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,605,922.55. This trade represents a 3.92% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 31,229 shares of company stock valued at $8,492,036. 3.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.