Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM) Stock Position Lowered by Blair William & Co. IL

Key Points

• Blair William & Co. IL reduced its stake in Salesforce Inc. by 4.7%, now holding approximately 680,179 shares valued at $182.5 million as of their latest SEC filing.
• Salesforce reported better-than-expected quarterly earnings with earnings per share of $2.58, surpassing analyst estimates of $2.55, alongside a revenue increase of 7.6% year-over-year.
• Analysts have mixed views on Salesforce, with a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $348.16, while several brokerages have adjusted their ratings and target prices recently.

Blair William & Co. IL reduced its stake in Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM - Free Report) by 4.7% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 680,179 shares of the CRM provider's stock after selling 33,455 shares during the period. Blair William & Co. IL owned approximately 0.07% of Salesforce worth $182,533,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. acquired a new stake in Salesforce in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Accredited Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Salesforce in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Capital A Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in Salesforce by 450.0% in the first quarter. Capital A Wealth Management LLC now owns 110 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 90 shares in the last quarter. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC raised its holdings in Salesforce by 314.8% in the first quarter. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 112 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 85 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Abound Financial LLC acquired a new stake in Salesforce in the first quarter valued at approximately $31,000. 80.43% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Salesforce news, insider Srinivas Tallapragada sold 6,697 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on 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 owned 41,422 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,219,490. The trade was a 13.92% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Marc Benioff sold 2,250 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, July 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $259.67, for a total value of $584,257.50. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 11,955,566 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,104,501,823.22. This trade represents a 0.02% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 41,979 shares of company stock valued at $11,330,746 in the last quarter. 3.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Salesforce Stock Performance

Shares of CRM traded up $1.47 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $252.21. The stock had a trading volume of 4,399,864 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,950,044. The company has a market cap of $241.11 billion, a PE ratio of 39.47, a PEG ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 1.37. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $266.04 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $281.65. 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 fifty-two week low of $230.00 and a fifty-two week high of $369.00.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, May 28th. The CRM provider reported $2.58 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.55 by $0.03. Salesforce had a return on equity of 12.94% and a net margin of 16.08%. The company had revenue of $9.83 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.74 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.44 EPS. The business's revenue was up 7.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts expect 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 was paid on Thursday, July 10th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, June 18th were given a dividend of $0.416 per share. This represents a $1.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, June 18th. Salesforce's payout ratio is 25.98%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on CRM. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price target on Salesforce from $350.00 to $335.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 10th. UBS Group set a $404.00 price objective on Salesforce and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, June 18th. Citigroup decreased their price objective on Salesforce from $320.00 to $295.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 30th. Canaccord Genuity Group decreased their price objective on Salesforce from $400.00 to $350.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, May 28th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada restated a "sector perform" rating and set a $275.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Monday, July 14th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, twenty-seven have given a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Salesforce presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $348.16.

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.