Hartline Investment Corp Lowers Position in Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Hartline Investment Corp lowered its position in Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM - Free Report) by 38.2% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 20,425 shares of the CRM provider's stock after selling 12,646 shares during the quarter. Salesforce accounts for about 0.7% of Hartline Investment Corp's holdings, making the stock its 27th largest position. Hartline Investment Corp's holdings in Salesforce were worth $5,481,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Wulff Hansen & CO. boosted its stake in Salesforce by 3.5% in the 4th quarter. Wulff Hansen & CO. now owns 1,035 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $346,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares during the period. Seven Mile Advisory increased its position in Salesforce by 2.3% during the 4th quarter. Seven Mile Advisory now owns 1,762 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $589,000 after buying an additional 39 shares during the period. Kozak & Associates Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 1.6% during the first quarter. Kozak & Associates Inc. now owns 2,571 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $654,000 after buying an additional 41 shares in the last quarter. Meridian Wealth Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 5.3% during the fourth quarter. Meridian Wealth Partners LLC now owns 834 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $279,000 after buying an additional 42 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Naviter Wealth LLC boosted its position in shares of Salesforce by 0.5% in the first quarter. Naviter Wealth LLC now owns 9,231 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $2,492,000 after acquiring an additional 42 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.43% of the company's stock.

Salesforce Trading Up 0.9%

Shares of Salesforce stock traded up $2.37 on Friday, hitting $271.58. 5,031,804 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 6,543,873. The company has a fifty day moving average of $272.21 and a two-hundred day moving average of $292.32. Salesforce Inc. has a one year low of $230.00 and a one year high of $369.00. The company has a market capitalization of $259.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.47 and a beta of 1.36. 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 posted its quarterly earnings results 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. The firm had revenue of $9.83 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $9.74 billion. Salesforce had a return on equity of 12.94% and a net margin of 16.08%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 7.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.44 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Salesforce Inc. will post 7.46 earnings per share for the current year.

Salesforce Cuts Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 10th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, June 18th will be issued a dividend of $0.416 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, June 18th. This represents a $1.66 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.61%. Salesforce's dividend payout ratio is currently 25.98%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have weighed in on the stock. 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. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and set a $404.00 target price (up from $393.00) on shares of Salesforce in a report on Thursday, May 29th. Erste Group Bank downgraded shares of Salesforce from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, June 5th. Citigroup reduced 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, BMO Capital Markets lowered their price objective on Salesforce from $367.00 to $350.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, May 27th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, twenty-eight have issued a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $349.08.

Insider Activity at Salesforce

In other news, CEO Marc Benioff sold 2,250 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $272.48, for a total transaction of $613,080.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 11,862,457 shares in the company, valued at $3,232,282,283.36. The trade was a 0.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Parker Harris sold 1,142 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, June 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $262.35, for a total transaction of $299,603.70. Following the sale, the insider owned 136,824 shares of the company's stock, valued at $35,895,776.40. This trade represents a 0.83% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 28,534 shares of company stock worth $7,609,842. 3.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.