Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) Shares Sold by Oak Thistle LLC

Oak Thistle LLC cut its stake in shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 78.3% in the first quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 1,835 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after selling 6,636 shares during the period. Oak Thistle LLC’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $553,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in CRM. Bear Mountain Capital Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Salesforce in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Signature Resources Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Salesforce in the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. Kathleen S. Wright Associates Inc. purchased a new stake in Salesforce during the 4th quarter worth about $31,000. Pacifica Partners Inc. lifted its stake in Salesforce by 333.3% during the fourth quarter. Pacifica Partners Inc. now owns 130 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Finally, BKM Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Salesforce during the fourth quarter worth approximately $34,000. 80.43% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Marc Benioff sold 15,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $305.42, for a total value of $4,581,300.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 12,981,166 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,964,707,719.72. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, COO Brian Millham sold 2,018 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $260.00, for a total transaction of $524,680.00. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Marc Benioff sold 15,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $305.42, for a total transaction of $4,581,300.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 12,981,166 shares in the company, valued at $3,964,707,719.72. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 509,952 shares of company stock worth $139,786,753. 3.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently weighed in on CRM. Wedbush reduced their target price on Salesforce from $325.00 to $315.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, May 29th. Barclays lowered their target price on shares of Salesforce from $355.00 to $305.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 30th. Wolfe Research reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $365.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th. Raymond James reaffirmed a “strong-buy” rating and issued a $325.00 target price (down from $380.00) on shares of Salesforce in a report on Thursday, May 30th. Finally, DA Davidson dropped their price target on Salesforce from $300.00 to $230.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 30th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating, twenty-five have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $292.79.

Salesforce Stock Down 0.4 %

Shares of CRM stock traded down $0.96 on Monday, hitting $256.14. The stock had a trading volume of 5,870,518 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,977,129. Salesforce, Inc. has a 52-week low of $193.68 and a 52-week high of $318.71. The firm has a market capitalization of $248.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 46.08, a P/E/G ratio of 2.26 and a beta of 1.29. 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’s 50 day moving average is $259.79 and its 200-day moving average is $276.47.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, May 29th. The CRM provider reported $2.44 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.38 by $0.06. Salesforce had a return on equity of 11.57% and a net margin of 15.30%. The company had revenue of $9.13 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.15 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.15 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 10.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research 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 will be paid on Thursday, July 25th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, July 9th will be paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.62%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, July 9th. Salesforce’s payout ratio is currently 7.19%.

Salesforce Company 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.