Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM) Shares Sold by Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC

Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC decreased its stake in shares of Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM - Free Report) by 3.8% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 250,446 shares of the CRM provider's stock after selling 9,847 shares during the quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC's holdings in Salesforce were worth $67,210,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Athena Investment Management purchased a new position in Salesforce during the fourth quarter valued at $236,000. Jag Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Salesforce by 2,507.9% in the fourth quarter. Jag Capital Management LLC now owns 23,706 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $7,926,000 after purchasing an additional 22,797 shares during the last quarter. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp raised its stake in shares of Salesforce by 2.7% in the fourth quarter. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp now owns 27,358 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $9,146,000 after purchasing an additional 723 shares during the last quarter. Millstone Evans Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Salesforce in the fourth quarter worth $823,000. Finally, Heartland Bank & Trust Co raised its stake in shares of Salesforce by 117.2% in 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 during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.43% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently weighed in on CRM. Sanford C. Bernstein boosted their price target on Salesforce from $243.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock an "underperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 29th. Guggenheim upgraded Salesforce from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, April 21st. Needham & Company LLC restated a "buy" rating and issued a $400.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Wednesday, May 28th. Robert W. Baird reduced their price objective on Salesforce from $430.00 to $400.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, Piper Sandler upped their price objective on Salesforce from $315.00 to $335.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 28th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, twenty-eight have assigned a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $349.08.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Oscar Munoz purchased 3,882 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 3rd. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $257.28 per share, with a total value of $998,760.96. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 11,843 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,046,967.04. This trade represents a 48.76% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 1,256 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $253.31, for a total transaction of $318,157.36. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 12,826 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,248,954.06. This represents a 8.92% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 26,284 shares of company stock valued at $6,996,762. 3.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Salesforce Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE CRM traded up $1.98 during trading on Friday, reaching $272.72. 21,736,713 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 6,553,599. Salesforce Inc. has a 12-month low of $230.00 and a 12-month high of $369.00. The company has a current ratio of 1.07, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. The stock has a market cap of $260.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 42.68, a PEG ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 1.38. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $269.86 and its 200 day simple moving average is $295.19.

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 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $9.74 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.44 EPS. Salesforce's revenue was up 7.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Salesforce Inc. will post 7.46 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 10th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, June 18th will be given a dividend of $0.416 per share. This represents a $1.66 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.61%. The ex-dividend date is 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.