Evanson Asset Management LLC Decreases Holdings in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Evanson Asset Management LLC cut its stake in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 11.8% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,346 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after selling 180 shares during the quarter. Evanson Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $346,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of CRM. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 1.2% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 84,635,254 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $25,490,446,000 after acquiring an additional 1,008,841 shares during the period. Capital World Investors boosted its position in shares of Salesforce by 2.4% during the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 19,561,325 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $5,147,402,000 after purchasing an additional 457,463 shares in the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in Salesforce by 5.3% during the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 14,921,042 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $3,926,323,000 after buying an additional 752,566 shares in the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors lifted its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 26.9% during the first quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 14,376,536 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $4,329,925,000 after purchasing an additional 3,044,611 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Capital International Investors boosted its position in shares of Salesforce by 3.0% in the 1st quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 14,116,449 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $4,251,592,000 after purchasing an additional 407,834 shares during the period. 80.43% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Salesforce Stock Performance

NYSE:CRM traded up $3.41 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $252.53. 2,975,285 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,696,709. The firm has a market capitalization of $244.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 45.42, a P/E/G ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 1.29. Salesforce, Inc. has a 1-year low of $193.68 and a 1-year high of $318.71. The company has a 50-day moving average of $247.58 and a 200 day moving average of $273.79. 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 (NYSE:CRM) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 29th. The CRM provider reported $2.44 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.38 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $9.13 billion during 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% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.15 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.47 EPS for the current year.

Salesforce Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed 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. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.63%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, July 9th. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio is currently 28.78%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Marc Benioff sold 15,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $286.90, for a total transaction of $4,303,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 12,512,327 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,589,786,616.30. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, insider Parker Harris sold 4,200 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $285.20, for a total transaction 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 sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Marc Benioff sold 15,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $286.90, for a total value of $4,303,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 12,512,327 shares in the company, valued at $3,589,786,616.30. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 232,842 shares of company stock valued at $60,982,983 in the last quarter. Insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of Salesforce from $300.00 to $250.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. TD Cowen dropped their target price on shares of Salesforce from $330.00 to $285.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 30th. Barclays cut their price objective on Salesforce from $355.00 to $305.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 30th. Citigroup decreased their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $323.00 to $260.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 30th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets dropped their price objective on Salesforce from $335.00 to $265.00 and set an “outperform” 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 issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $292.79.

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.