Sfm LLC Invests $590,000 in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

SFM LLC bought a new stake in shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm bought 2,199 shares of the CRM provider's stock, valued at approximately $590,000.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CRM. Cornell Pochily Investment Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 2.7% during the first quarter. Cornell Pochily Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 6,214 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $1,667,000 after buying an additional 165 shares in the last quarter. MEAG MUNICH ERGO Kapitalanlagegesellschaft mbH grew its holdings in Salesforce by 5.0% in the first quarter. MEAG MUNICH ERGO Kapitalanlagegesellschaft mbH now owns 150,355 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $40,349,000 after purchasing an additional 7,139 shares during the period. Prentice Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in Salesforce by 2.3% during the first quarter. Prentice Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,645 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $710,000 after buying an additional 60 shares in the last quarter. Foster Victor Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in Salesforce by 10.3% during the first quarter. Foster Victor Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 50,706 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $12,930,000 after buying an additional 4,722 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Aries Wealth Management lifted its position in Salesforce by 56.3% during the first quarter. Aries Wealth Management now owns 1,740 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $467,000 after buying an additional 627 shares in the last quarter. 80.43% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Salesforce

In related news, insider R David Schmaier sold 6,959 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $253.31, for a total value of $1,762,784.29. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 36,090 shares in the company, valued at $9,141,957.90. This represents a 16.17% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Miguel Milano sold 705 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $279.44, for a total transaction of $197,005.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 9,323 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,605,219.12. This represents a 7.03% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 40,332 shares of company stock worth $11,024,802 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 3.20% of the company's stock.

Salesforce Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:CRM traded down $8.66 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $258.25. The stock had a trading volume of 7,647,008 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,536,741. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $268.09 and its 200 day simple moving average is $299.93. Salesforce, Inc. has a 1-year low of $227.77 and a 1-year high of $369.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $246.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.48, a PEG ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 1.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a current ratio of 1.11.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, May 28th. The CRM provider reported $2.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.55 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $9.83 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.74 billion. Salesforce had a net margin of 15.96% and a return on equity of 12.34%. Salesforce's revenue was up 7.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.44 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.46 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Cuts Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 10th. Investors of record on Wednesday, June 18th will be given a $0.416 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, June 18th. This represents a $1.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.64%. Salesforce's dividend payout ratio is presently 25.98%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have weighed in on CRM. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price target on shares of Salesforce from $367.00 to $350.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, May 27th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on shares of Salesforce from $340.00 to $385.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 29th. Needham & Company LLC reissued a "buy" rating and set a $400.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Wednesday, May 28th. Stephens reduced their target price on shares of Salesforce from $311.00 to $309.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 30th. Finally, Robert W. Baird cut their price target on shares of Salesforce from $430.00 to $400.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating, twenty-seven have assigned a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $346.34.

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.