Private Advisory Group LLC Sells 483 Shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Private Advisory Group LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 28.8% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,192 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after selling 483 shares during the quarter. Private Advisory Group LLC’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $306,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Signature Resources Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Salesforce during the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. grew its holdings in Salesforce by 186.7% during 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 last quarter. Piscataqua Savings Bank raised its position in Salesforce by 2,400.0% in the 2nd quarter. Piscataqua Savings Bank now owns 100 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 96 shares during the period. Red Tortoise LLC bought a new stake in Salesforce in the first quarter worth about $33,000. Finally, Creekmur Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in Salesforce in the fourth quarter worth about $35,000. Institutional investors own 80.43% of the company’s stock.

Salesforce Stock Up 2.1 %

NYSE:CRM traded up $5.51 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $264.10. 1,136,856 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 6,539,500. The company has a fifty day moving average of $251.45 and a 200 day moving average of $272.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a current ratio of 1.11. Salesforce, Inc. has a twelve month low of $193.68 and a twelve month high of $318.71. The company has a market capitalization of $255.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 47.65, a P/E/G ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 1.29.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 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 company’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.15 earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.47 EPS for the current year.

Salesforce Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 25th. Investors of record on Tuesday, July 9th were paid a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, July 9th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.61%. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 28.78%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CRM has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Sanford C. Bernstein boosted their price objective on Salesforce from $231.00 to $234.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a report on Thursday, May 30th. Canaccord Genuity Group lowered their target price on shares of Salesforce from $350.00 to $300.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. Barclays reduced their price target on shares of Salesforce from $355.00 to $305.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. UBS Group lowered their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $310.00 to $250.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 30th. Finally, Mizuho dropped their target price on shares of Salesforce from $345.00 to $300.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating, twenty-five have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $291.50.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Marc Benioff sold 15,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $216.66, for a total value of $3,249,900.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 12,407,327 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,688,171,467.82. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Salesforce news, insider Parker Harris sold 4,200 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $262.97, for a total value of $1,104,474.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 117,581 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $30,920,275.57. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Marc Benioff sold 15,000 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $216.66, for a total value of $3,249,900.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 12,407,327 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,688,171,467.82. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 135,974 shares of company stock worth $33,440,920 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

About Salesforce

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.