WestEnd Advisors LLC Has $37.98 Million Stock Holdings in Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

WestEnd Advisors LLC lessened its stake in shares of Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM - Free Report) by 5.3% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 141,542 shares of the CRM provider's stock after selling 7,920 shares during the quarter. Salesforce accounts for about 1.0% of WestEnd Advisors LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 27th largest position. WestEnd Advisors LLC's holdings in Salesforce were worth $37,984,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. bought a new position in shares of Salesforce during the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Accredited Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Salesforce during the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC bought a new position in Salesforce in the 4th quarter valued at $35,000. Wood Tarver Financial Group LLC bought a new position in Salesforce in the 4th quarter valued at $35,000. Finally, VSM Wealth Advisory LLC bought a new position in Salesforce in the 4th quarter valued at $45,000. Institutional investors own 80.43% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have issued reports on the company. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an "overweight" rating and issued a $325.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Thursday. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price objective on Salesforce from $425.00 to $375.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, March 31st. UBS Group set a $404.00 price objective on Salesforce and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 18th. Citigroup cut their price objective on Salesforce from $320.00 to $295.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 30th. Finally, Oppenheimer reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $370.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Tuesday, June 10th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, twenty-eight have assigned a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $349.08.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Miguel Milano sold 405 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $262.35, for a total transaction of $106,251.75. Following the sale, the insider now owns 9,933 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,605,922.55. This represents a 3.92% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Brian Millham sold 979 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $253.66, for a total value of $248,333.14. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 6,487 shares in the company, valued at $1,645,492.42. This represents a 13.11% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 26,284 shares of company stock valued at $6,996,762 over the last 90 days. 3.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Salesforce Stock Up 0.7%

CRM traded up $1.98 on Friday, hitting $272.72. 21,736,713 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,529,239. Salesforce Inc. has a 12 month low of $230.00 and a 12 month high of $369.00. The company has a market cap of $260.72 billion, a PE ratio of 42.68, a PEG ratio of 2.48 and a beta of 1.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a current ratio of 1.07. The stock's fifty day moving average is $270.38 and its 200-day moving average is $294.25.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, May 28th. The CRM provider reported $2.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.55 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $9.83 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.74 billion. Salesforce had a return on equity of 12.94% and a net margin of 16.08%. Salesforce's revenue was up 7.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.44 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Salesforce Inc. will post 7.46 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 10th. Investors of record on Wednesday, June 18th will be given a dividend of $0.416 per share. This represents a $1.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.61%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, June 18th. Salesforce's dividend payout ratio is currently 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.