Dakota Wealth Management Has $1.94 Million Stake in Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Dakota Wealth Management decreased its position in shares of Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM - Free Report) by 87.0% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 7,240 shares of the CRM provider's stock after selling 48,505 shares during the period. Dakota Wealth Management's holdings in Salesforce were worth $1,943,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. acquired a new stake in shares of Salesforce in the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Accredited Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Salesforce in the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. Abound Financial LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Salesforce in the first quarter worth about $31,000. Wood Tarver Financial Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Salesforce in the fourth quarter worth about $35,000. Finally, VSM Wealth Advisory LLC bought a new position in shares of Salesforce in the fourth quarter worth about $45,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.43% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Marc Benioff sold 2,250 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $257.02, for a total transaction of $578,295.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 11,911,571 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,061,511,978.42. This trade represents a 0.02% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 261 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, June 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $262.35, for a total value of $68,473.35. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 12,024 shares in the company, valued at $3,154,496.40. The trade was a 2.12% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 33,819 shares of company stock worth $9,111,823. 3.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the company. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Salesforce from $255.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 29th. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $400.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Wednesday, May 28th. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price target on Salesforce from $350.00 to $335.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. Stephens lowered their price target on Salesforce from $311.00 to $309.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 30th. Finally, Mizuho lowered their price target on Salesforce from $425.00 to $380.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 15th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, twenty-seven have issued a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $348.16.

Salesforce Trading Down 0.0%

Shares of Salesforce stock traded down $0.07 on Friday, hitting $259.81. 1,787,048 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 6,536,778. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $270.71 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $286.99. The stock has a market capitalization of $248.38 billion, a PE ratio of 40.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 1.36. Salesforce Inc. has a one year low of $230.00 and a one year high of $369.00. 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 released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 28th. The CRM provider reported $2.58 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.55 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $9.83 billion during 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 quarterly revenue was up 7.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.44 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Salesforce Inc. will post 7.46 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 10th. Investors of record on Wednesday, June 18th were paid a dividend of $0.416 per share. This represents a $1.66 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.64%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, June 18th. Salesforce's payout ratio is presently 25.98%.

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.