Oak Thistle LLC Lowers Stock Position in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Oak Thistle LLC trimmed its holdings in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 78.3% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,835 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after selling 6,636 shares during the quarter. Oak Thistle LLC’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $553,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of CRM. Bear Mountain Capital Inc. bought a new position in Salesforce during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Signature Resources Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Salesforce in the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. Kathleen S. Wright Associates Inc. purchased a new stake in Salesforce during the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. Pacifica Partners Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Salesforce by 333.3% in the fourth quarter. Pacifica Partners Inc. now owns 130 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Finally, BKM Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Salesforce during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Institutional investors own 80.43% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently issued reports on CRM. Citigroup lowered their price objective on Salesforce from $323.00 to $260.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 30th. JMP Securities restated a “market outperform” rating and set a $342.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Monday, April 15th. Macquarie lowered their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $330.00 to $275.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 31st. KeyCorp initiated coverage on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Thursday, March 21st. They set a “sector weight” rating for the company. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating and set a $345.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a report on Thursday, May 30th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating, twenty-five have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $292.79.

Salesforce Trading Down 0.4 %

Shares of NYSE:CRM traded down $0.96 during trading on Monday, reaching $256.14. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 5,870,518 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,977,129. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $259.79 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $276.47. The company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. Salesforce, Inc. has a 12 month low of $193.68 and a 12 month high of $318.71. The stock has a market capitalization of $248.20 billion, a PE ratio of 46.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.26 and a beta of 1.29.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, May 29th. The CRM provider reported $2.44 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.38 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $9.13 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.15 billion. Salesforce had a return on equity of 11.57% and a net margin of 15.30%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 10.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.15 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 25th. Investors of record on Tuesday, July 9th will be paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, July 9th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.62%. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio is presently 7.19%.

Insider Activity at Salesforce

In other Salesforce news, CEO Marc Benioff sold 15,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $305.42, for a total transaction of $4,581,300.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 12,981,166 shares in the company, valued at $3,964,707,719.72. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, Director G Mason Morfit acquired 428,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 3rd. The shares were bought at an average price of $233.17 per share, with a total value of $99,796,760.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 3,914,309 shares in the company, valued at $912,699,429.53. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Marc Benioff sold 15,000 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $305.42, for a total value of $4,581,300.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 12,981,166 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,964,707,719.72. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 509,952 shares of company stock worth $139,786,753. Insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

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.