Sawgrass Asset Management LLC Invests $265,000 in Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Sawgrass Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 986 shares of the CRM provider's stock, valued at approximately $265,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in CRM. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. purchased a new position in shares of Salesforce in the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Accredited Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Salesforce in the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC bought a new position in Salesforce in the 4th quarter valued at $35,000. Wood Tarver Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Salesforce during the 4th quarter valued at $35,000. Finally, VSM Wealth Advisory LLC bought a new stake in shares of Salesforce during the 4th quarter worth $45,000. 80.43% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Erste Group Bank lowered shares of Salesforce from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, June 5th. Royal Bank Of Canada downgraded shares of Salesforce from an "outperform" rating to a "sector perform" rating and reduced their target price for the company from $420.00 to $275.00 in a research report on Thursday, May 29th. Canaccord Genuity Group decreased their price target on shares of Salesforce from $400.00 to $350.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, May 28th. Mizuho dropped their price objective on Salesforce from $425.00 to $380.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 15th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price objective on Salesforce from $425.00 to $375.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, twenty-eight have given a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $349.08.

Insider Activity

In other news, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 1,256 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $253.31, for a total transaction of $318,157.36. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 12,826 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,248,954.06. The trade was a 8.92% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider R David Schmaier sold 1,785 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $288.34, for a total transaction of $514,686.90. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 29,190 shares of the company's stock, valued at $8,416,644.60. This trade represents a 5.76% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 24,992 shares of company stock worth $6,704,198. 3.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Salesforce Stock Up 1.0%

Shares of NYSE CRM opened at $263.14 on Tuesday. 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 business has a 50-day moving average of $268.69 and a 200-day moving average of $296.11. The firm has a market capitalization of $251.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.18, a PEG ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 1.38. Salesforce Inc. has a 12 month low of $230.00 and a 12 month high of $369.00.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 28th. The CRM provider reported $2.58 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 business's quarterly revenue was up 7.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.44 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Salesforce Inc. will post 7.46 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Cuts Dividend

The company 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 $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 is Wednesday, June 18th. Salesforce's payout ratio is currently 25.98%.

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.

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