Sonora Investment Management Group LLC Buys 8,121 Shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Sonora Investment Management Group LLC increased its position in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 36.0% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 30,694 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after buying an additional 8,121 shares during the period. Sonora Investment Management Group LLC’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $8,237,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt lifted its stake in shares of Salesforce by 71.0% in the first quarter. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt now owns 26,021 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $6,980,000 after buying an additional 10,800 shares in the last quarter. Crescent Sterling Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 79.1% in the 1st quarter. Crescent Sterling Ltd. now owns 3,078 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $826,000 after acquiring an additional 1,359 shares during the last quarter. Accurate Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in Salesforce by 7.7% in the 1st quarter. Accurate Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,676 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $1,194,000 after acquiring an additional 336 shares in the last quarter. Ayrshire Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Salesforce by 2.1% during the 1st quarter. Ayrshire Capital Management LLC now owns 5,120 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $1,374,000 after purchasing an additional 106 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Simplicity Wealth LLC raised its stake in shares of Salesforce by 260.8% in the first quarter. Simplicity Wealth LLC now owns 5,563 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $1,493,000 after purchasing an additional 4,021 shares during the last quarter. 80.43% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Salesforce

In other Salesforce news, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 1,909 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $284.58, for a total value of $543,263.22. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 11,310 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,218,599.80. This trade represents a 14.44% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Amy E. Weaver sold 6,221 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $277.37, for a total value of $1,725,518.77. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 46,750 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,967,047.50. This represents a 11.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 40,332 shares of company stock valued at $11,024,802 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

Salesforce Stock Down 0.8%

Shares of CRM opened at $272.36 on Tuesday. Salesforce, Inc. has a 1 year low of $227.77 and a 1 year high of $369.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 1.11. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $266.57 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $301.70. The firm has a market cap of $260.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 44.80, a P/E/G ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 1.38.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, May 28th. The CRM provider reported $2.58 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.55 by $0.03. Salesforce had a net margin of 15.96% and a return on equity of 12.34%. The company had revenue of $9.83 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.74 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.44 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 7.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts forecast that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.46 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 10th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, June 18th will be given a dividend of $0.416 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, June 18th. This represents a $1.66 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.61%. Salesforce’s payout ratio is currently 25.98%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have issued reports on CRM. UBS Group reduced their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $320.00 to $300.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, May 27th. Loop Capital reduced their price objective on Salesforce from $330.00 to $300.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price target on shares of Salesforce from $367.00 to $350.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, May 27th. Sanford C. Bernstein raised their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $243.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a report on Thursday, May 29th. Finally, DA Davidson reiterated an “underperform” rating and issued a $200.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Wednesday, May 28th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating, twenty-seven have issued a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Salesforce presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $346.34.

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.