Waverly Advisors LLC Has $2.91 Million Stock Holdings in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Waverly Advisors LLC raised its position in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 134.0% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 9,663 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 5,534 shares during the period. Waverly Advisors LLC’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $2,910,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Bear Mountain Capital Inc. acquired a new position in Salesforce during the 4th quarter worth $26,000. Signature Resources Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Salesforce in the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Salesforce by 186.7% in the 1st quarter. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. now owns 86 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 56 shares during the period. Kathleen S. Wright Associates Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Salesforce in the 4th quarter valued at $31,000. Finally, Red Tortoise LLC acquired a new position in shares of Salesforce in the 1st quarter valued at $33,000. 80.43% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Salesforce

In other Salesforce news, CEO Marc Benioff sold 15,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $269.53, for a total transaction of $4,042,950.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 12,707,327 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,425,005,846.31. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, insider Parker Harris sold 4,200 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $285.20, for a total value of $1,197,840.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 115,762 shares in the company, valued at approximately $33,015,322.40. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Marc Benioff sold 15,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $269.53, for a total transaction of $4,042,950.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 12,707,327 shares in the company, valued at $3,425,005,846.31. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 305,042 shares of company stock valued at $81,019,465. Insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on CRM. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on Salesforce from $300.00 to $250.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. Macquarie reduced their target price on Salesforce from $330.00 to $275.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 31st. JMP Securities reiterated a “market outperform” rating and set a $342.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a report on Monday, April 15th. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on Salesforce from $350.00 to $320.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 30th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reduced their target price on Salesforce from $335.00 to $265.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 30th. One investment 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 issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $292.79.

Salesforce Trading Down 0.6 %

Shares of NYSE CRM traded down $1.57 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $257.02. 1,761,924 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 6,770,190. Salesforce, Inc. has a 12-month low of $193.68 and a 12-month high of $318.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a current ratio of 1.11. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $250.63 and a 200 day moving average price of $275.47. The firm has a market cap of $249.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 46.40, a P/E/G ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.29.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, May 29th. The CRM provider reported $2.44 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.38 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $9.13 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.15 billion. Salesforce had a net margin of 15.30% and a return on equity of 11.57%. The business’s revenue was up 10.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.15 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.47 earnings per share for the current year.

Salesforce Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 25th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, July 9th were issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, July 9th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.62%. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio is currently 28.78%.

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.