David J Yvars Group Sells 145 Shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

David J Yvars Group cut its stake in shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 4.3% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,225 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after selling 145 shares during the period. Salesforce comprises approximately 0.7% of David J Yvars Group’s holdings, making the stock its 24th largest position. David J Yvars Group’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $865,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. bought a new position in Salesforce in the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. Accredited Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Salesforce during the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Asset Planning Inc purchased a new stake in shares of Salesforce during the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Salesforce in the 4th quarter worth approximately $35,000. Finally, Wood Tarver Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Salesforce in the fourth quarter worth approximately $35,000. 80.43% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Salesforce Stock Performance

NYSE:CRM opened at $258.25 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $246.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.48, a PEG ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 1.38. Salesforce, Inc. has a 1 year low of $227.77 and a 1 year high of $369.00. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $268.09 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $299.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 1.11.

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

Salesforce Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 10th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, June 18th will be issued a $0.416 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, June 18th. This represents a $1.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.64%. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 25.98%.

Insider Activity

In other Salesforce news, CFO Amy E. Weaver sold 6,221 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $277.37, for a total transaction of $1,725,518.77. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 46,750 shares in the company, valued at $12,967,047.50. This represents a 11.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Brian Millham sold 3,937 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $284.58, for a total value of $1,120,391.46. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 5,518 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,570,312.44. The trade was a 41.64% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 40,332 shares of company stock worth $11,024,802. 3.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

CRM has been the subject of a number of research reports. Bank of America reduced their target price on shares of Salesforce from $440.00 to $400.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Citigroup reduced their price objective on Salesforce from $320.00 to $295.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 30th. DA Davidson reaffirmed an “underperform” rating and issued a $200.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a report on Wednesday, May 28th. Mizuho cut their price target on Salesforce from $425.00 to $380.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 15th. Finally, Northland Securities reduced their price target on Salesforce from $423.00 to $396.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 29th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating, twenty-seven have given a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Salesforce currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $346.34.

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.