Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM) Shares Bought by Woodward Diversified Capital LLC

Woodward Diversified Capital LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 18.0% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 845 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 129 shares during the period. Woodward Diversified Capital LLC’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $227,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in CRM. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its stake in Salesforce by 13.7% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 25,668 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $8,582,000 after purchasing an additional 3,102 shares during the last quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Salesforce by 12.6% in the 4th 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. Proficio Capital Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Salesforce by 70.4% in the 4th quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 2,791 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $933,000 after acquiring an additional 1,153 shares in the last quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. lifted its position in shares of Salesforce by 9.7% in the 4th quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 3,407 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $1,139,000 after acquiring an additional 300 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Advisors Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Salesforce by 13.3% in the 4th quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 25,016 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $8,364,000 after acquiring an additional 2,933 shares in the last quarter. 80.43% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Salesforce Stock Performance

NYSE:CRM opened at $257.84 on Thursday. Salesforce Inc. has a 1 year low of $230.00 and a 1 year high of $369.00. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $271.11 and its 200 day simple moving average is $287.52. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $246.49 billion, a PE ratio of 40.35, a PEG ratio of 2.33 and a beta of 1.36.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, May 28th. The CRM provider reported $2.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 business had revenue of $9.83 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.74 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.44 EPS. Salesforce’s revenue was up 7.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Salesforce Inc. will post 7.46 EPS for the current year.

Salesforce Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 10th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, June 18th were issued a $0.416 dividend. This represents a $1.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.65%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, June 18th. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 25.98%.

Insider Transactions at Salesforce

In other Salesforce news, insider Miguel Milano sold 405 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, June 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $262.35, for a total value of $106,251.75. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 9,933 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,605,922.55. This represents a 3.92% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 261 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, June 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $262.35, for a total transaction of $68,473.35. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 12,024 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,154,496.40. This trade represents a 2.12% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 31,569 shares of company stock worth $8,533,528. 3.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently commented on CRM shares. Barclays reduced their price target on shares of Salesforce from $425.00 to $347.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 29th. Cantor Fitzgerald downgraded shares of Salesforce from an “overweight” rating to a “cautious” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. JMP Securities restated a “market outperform” rating and issued a $430.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Friday, July 11th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Salesforce from $255.00 to $275.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 29th. Finally, Guggenheim upgraded shares of Salesforce from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, April 21st. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, twenty-seven have assigned a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $348.16.

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.