Wealth Preservation Advisors LLC Invests $1.70 Million in Salesforce Inc. $CRM

Key Points

• Wealth Preservation Advisors LLC invested approximately $1.70 million in Salesforce Inc. by purchasing 6,345 shares, making it the firm's 13th largest holding with around 1.2% of its investment portfolio dedicated to Salesforce.
• Salesforce reported earnings of $2.58 per share for the last quarter, exceeding estimates by $0.03, and earned $9.83 billion in revenue, reflecting a 7.6% year-over-year increase.
• Insider sales include CEO Marc Benioff offloading 2,250 shares for over $578,000, reducing his stake slightly, and recent institutional activity shows strong interest with 80.43% of shares held by institutional investors.

Wealth Preservation Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 6,345 shares of the CRM provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,703,000. Salesforce comprises approximately 1.2% of Wealth Preservation Advisors LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 13th biggest holding.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in CRM. Brighton Jones LLC raised its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 13.7% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 25,668 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $8,582,000 after acquiring an additional 3,102 shares in the last quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 12.6% in the fourth quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 1,827 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $611,000 after acquiring an additional 205 shares in the last quarter. Quarry LP bought a new stake in shares of Salesforce in the fourth quarter valued at about $82,000. AdvisorShares Investments LLC bought a new stake in shares of Salesforce in the fourth quarter valued at about $490,000. Finally, Leith Wheeler Investment Counsel Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of Salesforce in the fourth quarter valued at about $24,505,000. 80.43% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Marc Benioff sold 2,250 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $257.02, for a total transaction of $578,295.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 11,911,571 shares in the company, valued at $3,061,511,978.42. This represents a 0.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders have sold a total of 57,077 shares of company stock worth $14,642,478 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 3.00% of the company's stock.

Salesforce Stock Performance

CRM opened at $244.26 on Wednesday. Salesforce Inc. has a 52-week low of $226.48 and a 52-week high of $369.00. The company has a quick ratio of 1.07, a current ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. The company has a market cap of $233.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.25 and a beta of 1.37. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $257.69 and its 200-day moving average price is $270.78.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 28th. The CRM provider reported $2.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 the consensus estimate of $9.74 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.44 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 7.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Salesforce Inc. will post 7.46 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Cuts Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 10th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, June 18th were issued a dividend of $0.416 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, June 18th. This represents a $1.66 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.7%. Salesforce's dividend payout ratio is 25.98%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently weighed in on the company. Westpark Capital restated a "buy" rating and issued a $320.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a report on Wednesday, May 28th. Royal Bank Of Canada restated a "sector perform" rating and issued a $275.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a report on Monday, August 18th. Piper Sandler lifted their target price on Salesforce from $315.00 to $335.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 28th. Erste Group Bank lowered Salesforce from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, June 5th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus cut their target price on Salesforce from $375.00 to $325.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, August 13th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-five have assigned a Buy rating, ten have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $340.54.

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.

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