Brighton Jones LLC Decreases Position in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Brighton Jones LLC cut its stake in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 6.6% during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 25,525 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after selling 1,804 shares during the quarter. Brighton Jones LLC’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $6,563,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of CRM. Gilbert & Cook Inc. lifted its stake in Salesforce by 6.9% in the 4th quarter. Gilbert & Cook Inc. now owns 5,659 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $1,489,000 after purchasing an additional 366 shares in the last quarter. Aveo Capital Partners LLC lifted its stake in Salesforce by 44.7% in the 4th quarter. Aveo Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,605 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $422,000 after purchasing an additional 496 shares in the last quarter. 9258 Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in Salesforce by 24.0% in the 4th quarter. 9258 Wealth Management LLC now owns 6,483 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $1,706,000 after purchasing an additional 1,253 shares in the last quarter. Gryphon Financial Partners LLC lifted its stake in Salesforce by 32.4% in the 4th quarter. Gryphon Financial Partners LLC now owns 3,960 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $1,064,000 after purchasing an additional 970 shares in the last quarter. Finally, TrinityPoint Wealth LLC lifted its stake in Salesforce by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. TrinityPoint Wealth LLC now owns 8,036 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $2,115,000 after purchasing an additional 133 shares in the last quarter. 80.43% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Salesforce

In other Salesforce news, insider Srinivas Tallapragada sold 942 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction on Monday, June 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $242.32, for a total value of $228,265.44. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 22,154 shares in the company, valued at $5,368,357.28. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, insider Parker Harris sold 4,200 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $262.97, for a total transaction of $1,104,474.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 117,581 shares in the company, valued at $30,920,275.57. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Srinivas Tallapragada sold 942 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $242.32, for a total transaction of $228,265.44. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 22,154 shares in the company, valued at $5,368,357.28. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 66,576 shares of company stock worth $16,957,573. 3.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Salesforce Price Performance

Shares of CRM opened at $265.87 on Friday. Salesforce, Inc. has a 1-year low of $193.68 and a 1-year high of $318.71. The stock has a market cap of $257.63 billion, a PE ratio of 47.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.26 and a beta of 1.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a current ratio of 1.04 and a quick ratio of 1.04. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $253.90 and a 200 day moving average price of $267.00.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 28th. The CRM provider reported $2.56 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.36 by $0.20. The company had revenue of $9.33 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.22 billion. Salesforce had a net margin of 15.44% and a return on equity of 12.01%. Salesforce’s quarterly revenue was up 8.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.63 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.55 EPS for the current year.

Salesforce Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 8th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, September 18th will be paid a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, September 18th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.60%. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio is presently 28.78%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have weighed in on CRM. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Salesforce from $300.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $300.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Thursday. Mizuho cut their price target on shares of Salesforce from $345.00 to $300.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 30th. Barclays cut their price target on shares of Salesforce from $355.00 to $305.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 30th. Finally, Wedbush restated an “outperform” rating and set a $315.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-six have given a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $306.00.

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.