Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM) Shares Sold by Sigma Planning Corp

Sigma Planning Corp lessened its stake in Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM - Free Report) by 10.7% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 22,873 shares of the CRM provider's stock after selling 2,747 shares during the quarter. Sigma Planning Corp's holdings in Salesforce were worth $6,138,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in CRM. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC grew its holdings in Salesforce by 1.8% in the first quarter. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC now owns 5,315 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $1,426,000 after purchasing an additional 96 shares during the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC grew its stake in Salesforce by 5.7% in the 1st quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 20,941 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $5,620,000 after acquiring an additional 1,120 shares during the last quarter. Leelyn Smith LLC increased its holdings in Salesforce by 2.1% during the 1st quarter. Leelyn Smith LLC now owns 7,246 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $1,945,000 after acquiring an additional 151 shares in the last quarter. Mitchell Mcleod Pugh & Williams Inc. lifted its stake in Salesforce by 26.1% in the 1st quarter. Mitchell Mcleod Pugh & Williams Inc. now owns 3,246 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $871,000 after buying an additional 672 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bleakley Financial Group LLC increased its position in Salesforce by 45.1% during the 1st quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC now owns 40,795 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $10,948,000 after purchasing an additional 12,681 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.43% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 261 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 12,024 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,154,496.40. This represents a 2.12% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Miguel Milano sold 405 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $262.35, for a total value of $106,251.75. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 9,933 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,605,922.55. This represents a 3.92% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 35,284 shares of company stock valued at $9,444,537 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 3.20% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on CRM shares. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price objective on Salesforce from $350.00 to $335.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday. Guggenheim upgraded Salesforce from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, April 21st. Oppenheimer reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $370.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a report on Tuesday, June 10th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on shares of Salesforce from $340.00 to $385.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, May 29th. Finally, Northland Securities cut their price target on shares of Salesforce from $423.00 to $396.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 29th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, twenty-seven have issued a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Salesforce has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $348.16.

Salesforce Stock Up 0.5%

Shares of CRM traded up $1.38 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $259.45. The company had a trading volume of 6,529,578 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,259,348. The stock has a market cap of $248.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.60, a PEG ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 1.36. Salesforce Inc. has a 52 week low of $230.00 and a 52 week high of $369.00. The company's 50 day moving average price is $272.09 and its 200 day moving average price is $288.49. The company has a quick ratio of 1.07, a current ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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 business had revenue of $9.83 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.74 billion. The business's revenue was up 7.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.44 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Salesforce Inc. will post 7.46 EPS for the current year.

Salesforce Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 10th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, June 18th were given a $0.416 dividend. This represents a $1.66 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.64%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, June 18th. Salesforce's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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.