Souders Financial Advisors Boosts Stake in Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Souders Financial Advisors increased its holdings in shares of Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM - Free Report) by 65.3% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 6,913 shares of the CRM provider's stock after purchasing an additional 2,732 shares during the period. Souders Financial Advisors' holdings in Salesforce were worth $1,855,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes 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 lifted its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 117.2% in the 1st 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 bought a new position in shares of Salesforce in the 4th quarter worth $1,337,000. Strategic Blueprint LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 13.5% in the first quarter. Strategic Blueprint LLC now owns 23,828 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $6,394,000 after purchasing an additional 2,837 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Czech National Bank lifted its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 6.0% in the first quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 219,808 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $58,988,000 after purchasing an additional 12,528 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.43% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Salesforce

In other Salesforce news, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 1,525 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $253.66, for a total transaction of $386,831.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 12,211 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,097,442.26. This represents a 11.10% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Marc Benioff sold 2,250 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $272.48, for a total value of $613,080.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 11,862,457 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,232,282,283.36. The trade was a 0.02% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 33,819 shares of company stock valued at $9,111,823 over the last quarter. 3.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Salesforce Price Performance

Salesforce stock traded down $0.07 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $262.31. 6,692,512 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,566,918. Salesforce Inc. has a 52-week low of $230.00 and a 52-week high of $369.00. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $270.45 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $285.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a current ratio of 1.07. The company has a market cap of $250.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 41.05, a PEG ratio of 2.38 and a beta of 1.36.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 28th. The CRM provider reported $2.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.55 by $0.03. Salesforce had a return on equity of 12.94% and a net margin of 16.08%. The firm had revenue of $9.83 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $9.74 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.44 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 7.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Salesforce Inc. will post 7.46 earnings per share for the current year.

Salesforce Cuts Dividend

The company 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. This represents a $1.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.63%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, June 18th. Salesforce's payout ratio is currently 25.98%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on CRM shares. Piper Sandler raised their target price on Salesforce from $315.00 to $335.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 28th. Stephens dropped their target price on Salesforce from $311.00 to $309.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 30th. Erste Group Bank lowered Salesforce from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, June 5th. UBS Group set a $404.00 target price on Salesforce and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, June 18th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated a "sector perform" rating and set a $275.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a report on Monday, July 14th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, twenty-seven have assigned a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus 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.