Simmons Bank Buys 1,130 Shares of Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Simmons Bank lifted its stake in shares of Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM - Free Report) by 3.4% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 34,656 shares of the CRM provider's stock after acquiring an additional 1,130 shares during the period. Simmons Bank's holdings in Salesforce were worth $9,300,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. HM Payson & Co. increased its position in shares of Salesforce by 3.3% during the first quarter. HM Payson & Co. now owns 4,793 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $1,286,000 after acquiring an additional 155 shares in the last quarter. World Investment Advisors grew its position in Salesforce by 7.6% in the first quarter. World Investment Advisors now owns 67,137 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $18,017,000 after purchasing an additional 4,730 shares in the last quarter. VELA Investment Management LLC grew its position in Salesforce by 1,825.0% in the first quarter. VELA Investment Management LLC now owns 4,692 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $1,259,000 after purchasing an additional 4,964 shares in the last quarter. Sonata Capital Group Inc. grew its position in Salesforce by 28.1% in the first quarter. Sonata Capital Group Inc. now owns 1,367 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $367,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wayfinding Financial LLC grew its position in Salesforce by 10.7% in the first quarter. Wayfinding Financial LLC now owns 1,960 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $526,000 after purchasing an additional 189 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.43% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on CRM shares. Oppenheimer reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $370.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Tuesday, June 10th. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and issued a $404.00 target price (up previously from $393.00) on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Thursday, May 29th. Barclays decreased their target price on shares of Salesforce from $425.00 to $347.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 29th. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and issued a $325.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Thursday, June 26th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on shares of Salesforce from $340.00 to $385.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 29th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, twenty-eight have given a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Salesforce currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $349.08.

Salesforce Price Performance

Shares of Salesforce stock opened at $271.58 on Friday. Salesforce Inc. has a twelve month low of $230.00 and a twelve month high of $369.00. The company has a quick ratio of 1.07, a current ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $272.28 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $291.78. The stock 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.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 28th. The CRM provider reported $2.58 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.55 by $0.03. Salesforce had a net margin of 16.08% and a return on equity of 12.94%. The business had revenue of $9.83 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $9.74 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.44 EPS. The business's revenue was up 7.6% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that Salesforce Inc. will post 7.46 EPS for the current year.

Salesforce Cuts Dividend

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

Insider Transactions at Salesforce

In other Salesforce news, insider Parker Harris sold 1,142 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $262.35, for a total value of $299,603.70. Following the transaction, the insider directly 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Srinivas Tallapragada sold 6,697 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $295.00, for a total transaction of $1,975,615.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 41,422 shares in the company, valued at $12,219,490. This trade represents a 13.92% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 28,534 shares of company stock worth $7,609,842. Corporate insiders own 3.20% of the company's stock.

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.

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