Synergy Asset Management LLC Raises Stake in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Synergy Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 51.1% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 11,115 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,757 shares during the period. Synergy Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $3,348,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Bear Mountain Capital Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Salesforce during the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. Signature Resources Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Salesforce during the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Kathleen S. Wright Associates Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Salesforce in the 4th quarter valued at $31,000. Pacifica Partners Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of 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 buying an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Finally, BKM Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Salesforce during the 4th quarter worth $34,000. 80.43% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, COO Brian Millham sold 2,018 shares of Salesforce 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 document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, COO Brian Millham sold 2,018 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $260.00, for a total transaction of $524,680.00. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Parker Harris sold 4,200 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $301.75, for a total transaction of $1,267,350.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 105,837 shares in the company, valued at $31,936,314.75. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 509,952 shares of company stock worth $139,786,753 in the last 90 days. 3.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target 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. Citigroup lowered their target price on shares of Salesforce from $323.00 to $260.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 30th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Salesforce from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 19th. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $350.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a report on Friday, May 24th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on Salesforce from $300.00 to $250.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company 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 given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Salesforce has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $292.79.

Salesforce Trading Up 0.4 %

Shares of NYSE CRM traded up $0.96 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $257.17. The stock had a trading volume of 2,558,570 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,942,074. The company has a quick ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. Salesforce, Inc. has a 1-year low of $193.68 and a 1-year high of $318.71. The company has a market capitalization of $249.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 45.90, a PEG ratio of 2.26 and a beta of 1.29. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $259.79 and a 200 day moving average price of $276.47.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last released its quarterly earnings data 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. Salesforce had a net margin of 15.30% and a return on equity of 11.57%. The company had revenue of $9.13 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.15 billion. Salesforce’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.15 earnings per share. On average, analysts predict that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.47 earnings per share for the current year.

Salesforce Announces Dividend

The business 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 yield of 0.62%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, July 9th. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 7.19%.

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.