waypoint wealth counsel Buys Shares of 813 Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

waypoint wealth counsel bought a new stake in shares of Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 813 shares of the CRM provider’s stock, valued at approximately $218,000.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Athena Investment Management purchased a new position in Salesforce during the 4th quarter valued at about $236,000. Jag Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Salesforce by 2,507.9% during the 4th quarter. Jag Capital Management LLC now owns 23,706 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $7,926,000 after buying an additional 22,797 shares in the last quarter. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp grew its holdings in Salesforce by 2.7% during the 4th quarter. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp now owns 27,358 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $9,146,000 after buying an additional 723 shares in the last quarter. Millstone Evans Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Salesforce during the 4th quarter valued at about $823,000. Finally, Heartland Bank & Trust Co boosted its position in shares of Salesforce by 117.2% during the 1st quarter. Heartland Bank & Trust Co now owns 5,981 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $1,605,000 after acquiring an additional 3,227 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.43% of the company’s stock.

Salesforce Price Performance

CRM opened at $271.43 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a current ratio of 1.07. Salesforce Inc. has a 52-week low of $230.00 and a 52-week high of $369.00. The stock has a market capitalization of $259.49 billion, a PE ratio of 42.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 1.38. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $269.02 and its 200-day moving average price is $295.94.

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 the consensus estimate of $2.55 by $0.03. Salesforce had a return on equity of 12.94% and a net margin of 16.08%. The firm had revenue of $9.83 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.74 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.44 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 7.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict that Salesforce Inc. will post 7.46 EPS for the current year.

Salesforce Cuts Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Brian Millham sold 979 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $1,645,492.42. This represents a 13.11% decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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 1,256 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $253.31, for a total value of $318,157.36. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 12,826 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,248,954.06. The trade was a 8.92% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 26,284 shares of company stock valued at $6,996,762 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on CRM. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Salesforce from $255.00 to $275.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 29th. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price target on Salesforce from $425.00 to $375.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, March 31st. Oppenheimer reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $370.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Tuesday, June 10th. Canaccord Genuity Group dropped their price target on Salesforce from $400.00 to $350.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, May 28th. Finally, DA Davidson reiterated an “underperform” rating and set a $200.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Wednesday, May 28th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, twenty-eight have given a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $349.08.

Salesforce 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.