Vickerman Investment Advisors Inc. Purchases 1,472 Shares of Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Vickerman Investment Advisors Inc. raised its position in shares of Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM - Free Report) by 10.9% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 15,020 shares of the CRM provider's stock after purchasing an additional 1,472 shares during the period. Salesforce accounts for about 0.9% of Vickerman Investment Advisors Inc.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 26th largest position. Vickerman Investment Advisors Inc.'s holdings in Salesforce were worth $4,031,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in CRM. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. bought a new stake in Salesforce in the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. Accredited Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Salesforce in the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. Wood Tarver Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in Salesforce in the fourth quarter worth $35,000. VSM Wealth Advisory LLC bought a new stake in Salesforce in the fourth quarter worth $45,000. Finally, Vermillion Wealth Management Inc. increased its position in Salesforce by 138.9% during the first quarter. Vermillion Wealth Management Inc. now owns 172 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $46,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. 80.43% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have weighed in on CRM. Erste Group Bank cut Salesforce from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, June 5th. Northland Securities reduced their target price on Salesforce from $423.00 to $396.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 29th. UBS Group set a $404.00 price target on Salesforce and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, June 18th. Guggenheim upgraded shares of Salesforce from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, April 21st. Finally, Macquarie reiterated a "neutral" rating and issued a $320.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, twenty-eight have given a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Salesforce has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $349.08.

Salesforce Price Performance

Shares of CRM traded up $2.37 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $271.58. The stock had a trading volume of 5,031,804 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,543,799. The stock has a market capitalization of $259.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.50, a P/E/G ratio of 2.47 and a beta of 1.36. 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 company's fifty day moving average is $272.28 and its two-hundred day moving average is $291.46. Salesforce Inc. has a 52 week low of $230.00 and a 52 week high of $369.00.

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 firm had revenue of $9.83 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $9.74 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.44 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 7.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts anticipate that Salesforce Inc. will post 7.46 EPS for the current year.

Salesforce Cuts Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Marc Benioff sold 2,250 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $272.48, for a total transaction of $613,080.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 11,862,457 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,232,282,283.36. This represents a 0.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Miguel Milano sold 405 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $262.35, for a total transaction of $106,251.75. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 9,933 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,605,922.55. This represents a 3.92% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 28,534 shares of company stock valued at $7,609,842 in the last 90 days. 3.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Salesforce 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.