UNIVEST FINANCIAL Corp Has $13.99 Million Position in Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Key Points

• UNIVEST FINANCIAL Corp reduced its stake in Salesforce Inc. by 31.7%, selling 24,162 shares in Q1 and now holding 52,140 shares valued at approximately $13.99 million.
• Salesforce reported a 7.6% increase in revenue year-over-year, with earnings of $2.58 per share for the last quarter, exceeding estimates by $0.03.
• Institutions collectively own 80.43% of Salesforce's stock, and various firms adjusted their price targets, with Canaccord Genuity setting it at $350.

UNIVEST FINANCIAL Corp reduced its holdings in Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM - Free Report) by 31.7% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 52,140 shares of the CRM provider's stock after selling 24,162 shares during the period. Salesforce makes up about 0.9% of UNIVEST FINANCIAL Corp's investment portfolio, making the stock its 24th biggest position. UNIVEST FINANCIAL Corp's holdings in Salesforce were worth $13,992,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. acquired a new stake in Salesforce in the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Accredited Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Salesforce during the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Capital A Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of Salesforce by 450.0% during the first quarter. Capital A Wealth Management LLC now owns 110 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 90 shares in the last quarter. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC increased its position in shares of Salesforce by 314.8% during the first quarter. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 112 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 85 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Abound Financial LLC bought a new stake in shares of Salesforce during the first quarter worth $31,000. 80.43% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued a "sector perform" rating and set a $275.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Monday, July 14th. Cantor Fitzgerald downgraded shares of Salesforce from an "overweight" rating to a "cautious" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. BMO Capital Markets decreased their target price on shares of Salesforce from $350.00 to $335.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. Westpark Capital reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $320.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Wednesday, May 28th. Finally, Mizuho decreased their target price on shares of Salesforce from $425.00 to $380.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 15th. Three investment 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, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $348.16.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Srinivas Tallapragada sold 6,697 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 owned 41,422 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,219,490. The trade was a 13.92% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Marc Benioff sold 2,250 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $259.67, for a total transaction of $584,257.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 11,955,566 shares in the company, valued at $3,104,501,823.22. This trade represents a 0.02% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 39,729 shares of company stock worth $10,763,881 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 3.20% of the company's stock.

Salesforce Trading Down 2.9%

CRM traded down $7.48 during trading on Friday, reaching $250.85. 7,643,247 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,567,701. Salesforce Inc. has a one year low of $230.00 and a one year high of $369.00. The company has a current ratio of 1.07, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. The stock has a market capitalization of $239.81 billion, a PE ratio of 39.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 1.37. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $266.04 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $282.19.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, May 28th. The CRM provider reported $2.58 earnings per share 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 firm had revenue of $9.83 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.74 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.44 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 7.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Salesforce Inc. will post 7.46 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 10th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, June 18th were given a $0.416 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, June 18th. This represents a $1.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.7%. Salesforce's payout ratio 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.