Stratos Investment Management LLC Grows Position in Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Stratos Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM - Free Report) by 24.9% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 34,393 shares of the CRM provider's stock after buying an additional 6,859 shares during the period. Stratos Investment Management LLC's holdings in Salesforce were worth $9,230,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of CRM. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. purchased a new position in shares of Salesforce during the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Accredited Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Salesforce in the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Abound Financial LLC purchased a new position in Salesforce in the first quarter worth $31,000. Wood Tarver Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in Salesforce in the fourth quarter worth $35,000. Finally, VSM Wealth Advisory LLC purchased a new position in Salesforce in the fourth quarter worth $45,000. 80.43% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Parker Harris sold 1,142 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $262.35, for a total transaction of $299,603.70. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 136,824 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $35,895,776.40. The trade was a 0.83% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider R David Schmaier sold 6,959 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $253.31, for a total transaction of $1,762,784.29. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 36,090 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $9,141,957.90. This represents a 16.17% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 33,034 shares of company stock worth $8,833,235. Insiders own 3.20% of the company's stock.

Salesforce Price Performance

CRM traded down $6.97 during trading on Thursday, hitting $263.95. 7,039,123 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 6,543,046. Salesforce Inc. has a 1 year low of $230.00 and a 1 year high of $369.00. The company has a market cap of $252.34 billion, a PE ratio of 41.31, a P/E/G ratio of 2.48 and a beta of 1.36. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $272.54 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $290.38. The company has a current ratio of 1.07, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 28th. The CRM provider reported $2.58 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates 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 period last year, the company posted $2.44 EPS. The business's revenue was up 7.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Salesforce Inc. will post 7.46 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 10th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, June 18th will be paid 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 dividend yield of 0.63%. Salesforce's payout ratio is currently 25.98%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently issued reports on CRM. Barclays cut 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. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on shares of Salesforce from $340.00 to $385.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 29th. Royal Bank Of Canada downgraded shares of Salesforce from an "outperform" rating to a "sector perform" rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $420.00 to $275.00 in a research note on Thursday, May 29th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $255.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, May 29th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reiterated an "overweight" rating and set a $404.00 price target (up previously from $393.00) on shares of Salesforce in a report on Thursday, May 29th. Three research 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 given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Salesforce currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $348.68.

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.