Trivest Advisors Ltd trimmed its holdings in shares of Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM - Free Report) by 93.4% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 20,292 shares of the CRM provider's stock after selling 287,208 shares during the period. Salesforce comprises 0.5% of Trivest Advisors Ltd's investment portfolio, making the stock its 16th largest position. Trivest Advisors Ltd's holdings in Salesforce were worth $5,446,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.
Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Salesforce by 55.7% in the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 22,025 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $5,911,000 after buying an additional 7,881 shares during the period. Renaissance Investment Group LLC lifted its position in Salesforce by 11.1% during the 1st quarter. Renaissance Investment Group LLC now owns 25,480 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $6,838,000 after acquiring an additional 2,547 shares in the last quarter. N.E.W. Advisory Services LLC purchased a new position in Salesforce in the 1st quarter worth approximately $49,000. TCTC Holdings LLC grew its position in Salesforce by 0.9% in the first quarter. TCTC Holdings LLC now owns 103,506 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $27,777,000 after acquiring an additional 953 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Kirtland Hills Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Salesforce by 27.6% during the first quarter. Kirtland Hills Capital Management LLC now owns 6,373 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $1,576,000 after purchasing an additional 1,380 shares during the period. 80.43% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.
Salesforce Stock Performance
Shares of Salesforce stock traded up $1.38 during trading on Monday, hitting $259.45. 6,529,578 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 7,259,348. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a current ratio of 1.07. Salesforce Inc. has a 12 month low of $230.00 and a 12 month high of $369.00. The stock's fifty day moving average is $272.09 and its 200 day moving average is $288.49. The stock has a market cap of $248.03 billion, a PE ratio of 40.60, a P/E/G ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 1.36.
Salesforce (NYSE:CRM - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, May 28th. The CRM provider reported $2.58 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 firm had revenue of $9.83 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.74 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.44 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 7.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Salesforce Inc. will post 7.46 EPS for the current year.
Salesforce Cuts Dividend
The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 10th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, June 18th were paid a $0.416 dividend. This represents a $1.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.64%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, June 18th. Salesforce's dividend payout ratio is currently 25.98%.
Insider Activity at Salesforce
In related news, CEO Marc Benioff sold 2,250 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $272.48, for a total transaction of $613,080.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 11,862,457 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,232,282,283.36. The trade was a 0.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Srinivas Tallapragada sold 6,697 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $295.00, for a total value of $1,975,615.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 41,422 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $12,219,490. The trade was a 13.92% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 37,534 shares of company stock valued at $10,028,795. Insiders own 3.20% of the company's stock.
Analyst Ratings Changes
CRM has been the subject of several analyst reports. Northland Securities decreased their target price on shares of Salesforce from $423.00 to $396.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company 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 company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 29th. Canaccord Genuity Group dropped their target price on Salesforce from $400.00 to $350.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, May 28th. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $400.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Wednesday, May 28th. Finally, Westpark Capital restated a "buy" rating and set a $320.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Wednesday, May 28th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, twenty-seven have issued a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $348.16.
Check Out Our Latest Stock Report on CRM
Salesforce Company Profile
(
Free Report)
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.
Further Reading
Before you consider Salesforce, you'll want to hear this.
MarketBeat keeps track of Wall Street's top-rated and best performing research analysts and the stocks they recommend to their clients on a daily basis. MarketBeat has identified the five stocks that top analysts are quietly whispering to their clients to buy now before the broader market catches on... and Salesforce wasn't on the list.
While Salesforce currently has a Moderate Buy rating among analysts, top-rated analysts believe these five stocks are better buys.
View The Five Stocks Here
Market downturns give many investors pause, and for good reason. Wondering how to offset this risk? Enter your email address to learn more about using beta to protect your portfolio.
Get This Free Report
