Stephens Inc. AR Sells 5,603 Shares of Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Stephens Inc. AR trimmed its position in shares of Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM - Free Report) by 5.2% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 101,480 shares of the CRM provider's stock after selling 5,603 shares during the quarter. Stephens Inc. AR's holdings in Salesforce were worth $27,233,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its position in Salesforce by 13.7% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 25,668 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $8,582,000 after purchasing an additional 3,102 shares in the last quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC lifted its position in Salesforce by 12.6% during the fourth quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 1,827 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $611,000 after buying an additional 205 shares during the period. Proficio Capital Partners LLC lifted its position in Salesforce by 70.4% during the fourth quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 2,791 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $933,000 after buying an additional 1,153 shares during the period. AGF Management Ltd. lifted its position in Salesforce by 59.3% during the fourth quarter. AGF Management Ltd. now owns 5,599 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $1,872,000 after buying an additional 2,085 shares during the period. Finally, Associated Banc Corp purchased a new position in shares of Salesforce in the 4th quarter worth about $228,000. 80.43% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Salesforce Price Performance

Shares of Salesforce stock traded down $5.74 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $258.23. 7,004,264 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,547,931. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a current ratio of 1.07 and a quick ratio of 1.07. The firm has a market cap of $246.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.41, 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 firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $272.09 and a 200-day simple moving average of $288.86.

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

Salesforce Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 10th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, June 18th were paid a $0.416 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, June 18th. This represents a $1.66 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.64%. Salesforce's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 25.98%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the company. Citigroup cut their price objective on Salesforce from $320.00 to $295.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 30th. Morgan Stanley restated an "overweight" rating and set a $404.00 price objective (up previously from $393.00) on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Thursday, May 29th. Northland Securities lowered their price objective on Salesforce from $423.00 to $396.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 29th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price objective on Salesforce from $425.00 to $375.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, March 31st. Finally, Barclays lowered their price target on Salesforce from $425.00 to $347.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 29th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, twenty-seven have assigned a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $348.16.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Parker Harris sold 1,142 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction on Monday, June 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $262.35, for a total transaction of $299,603.70. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 136,824 shares of the company's stock, valued at $35,895,776.40. The trade was a 0.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 261 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction 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 sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 12,024 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,154,496.40. This trade represents a 2.12% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 35,284 shares of company stock worth $9,444,537. 3.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.