Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) Shares Sold by Embree Financial Group

Embree Financial Group lowered its holdings in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 8.9% in the first quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 4,317 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after selling 421 shares during the quarter. Embree Financial Group’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $1,300,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Bear Mountain Capital Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Salesforce during the 4th quarter worth $26,000. Signature Resources Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Salesforce during the 4th quarter worth $26,000. Kathleen S. Wright Associates Inc. acquired a new position in Salesforce in the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. Pacifica Partners Inc. raised its stake in Salesforce by 333.3% in the 4th quarter. Pacifica Partners Inc. now owns 130 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Red Tortoise LLC acquired a new position in Salesforce in the 1st quarter valued at about $33,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.43% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Salesforce

In other Salesforce news, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 2,425 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $273.15, for a total value of $662,388.75. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 5,856 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,599,566.40. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other Salesforce news, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 2,425 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $273.15, for a total value of $662,388.75. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 5,856 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,599,566.40. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Amy E. Weaver sold 5,864 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $274.77, for a total value of $1,611,251.28. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 45,231 shares in the company, valued at $12,428,121.87. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 454,152 shares of company stock valued at $122,552,011. Corporate insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently weighed in on CRM shares. Robert W. Baird cut their target price on shares of Salesforce from $355.00 to $295.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on shares of Salesforce from $350.00 to $320.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on shares of Salesforce from $310.00 to $300.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. Barclays cut their target price on shares of Salesforce from $355.00 to $305.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. Finally, StockNews.com cut Salesforce from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 19th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating, twenty-five have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $292.79.

Salesforce Stock Performance

Shares of CRM stock traded up $0.18 on Wednesday, hitting $252.61. 8,945,022 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 6,954,869. 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 company has a market capitalization of $244.78 billion, a PE ratio of 45.43, a PEG ratio of 2.26 and a beta of 1.29. Salesforce, Inc. has a 1-year low of $193.68 and a 1-year high of $318.71. The company’s fifty day moving average is $257.24 and its 200 day moving average is $276.07.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 29th. The CRM provider reported $2.44 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.38 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $9.13 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.15 billion. Salesforce had a return on equity of 11.57% and a net margin of 15.30%. The business’s revenue was up 10.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.15 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Dividend Announcement

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 given a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.63%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, July 9th. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio is currently 7.19%.

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.