Sunbelt Securities Inc. Cuts Position in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Sunbelt Securities Inc. decreased its position in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 22.1% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 5,468 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after selling 1,547 shares during the quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc.’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $1,406,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. raised its stake in Salesforce by 186.7% during the first 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 in the last quarter. Piscataqua Savings Bank increased its holdings in shares of 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 buying an additional 96 shares during the last quarter. Clear Investment Research LLC raised its position in shares of Salesforce by 816.7% during the 2nd quarter. Clear Investment Research LLC now owns 110 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 98 shares in the last quarter. Red Tortoise LLC bought a new position in shares of Salesforce in the 1st quarter valued at about $33,000. Finally, Stephens Consulting LLC grew its position in Salesforce by 3,125.0% in the second quarter. Stephens Consulting LLC now owns 129 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 125 shares in the last quarter. 80.43% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CRM has been the subject of several analyst reports. Raymond James raised their price objective on Salesforce from $325.00 to $350.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. Roth Mkm restated a “buy” rating and issued a $335.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. BNP Paribas upgraded Salesforce to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Salesforce from $320.00 to $330.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. Finally, Wedbush raised their target price on shares of Salesforce from $315.00 to $325.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-seven have assigned a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $308.03.

Insider Transactions at Salesforce

In related news, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 413 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $255.78, for a total value of $105,637.14. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 6,431 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,644,921.18. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other news, Director Maynard G. Webb, Jr. sold 9,170 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $276.32, for a total transaction of $2,533,854.40. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 1,363 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $376,624.16. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 413 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $255.78, for a total transaction of $105,637.14. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 6,431 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,644,921.18. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 67,985 shares of company stock valued at $17,632,363 over the last 90 days. 3.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Salesforce Trading Down 1.1 %

Shares of CRM stock opened at $273.68 on Tuesday. Salesforce, Inc. has a 52-week low of $193.68 and a 52-week high of $318.71. The stock has a market cap of $265.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 49.22, a P/E/G ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 1.29. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $256.65 and a 200-day moving average of $264.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a current ratio of 1.04.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, August 28th. The CRM provider reported $2.56 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.36 by $0.20. Salesforce had a net margin of 15.44% and a return on equity of 12.01%. The company had revenue of $9.33 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.22 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.63 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 8.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 8th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, September 18th will be given a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, September 18th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.58%. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio is currently 28.78%.

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.