Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. Cuts Position in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. decreased its stake in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 9.6% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 42,148 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after selling 4,453 shares during the period. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc.’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $10,837,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CRM. GM Advisory Group LLC acquired a new stake in Salesforce in the second quarter valued at $227,000. Wealth Advisors of Tampa Bay LLC grew its stake in Salesforce by 0.9% in the 2nd quarter. Wealth Advisors of Tampa Bay LLC now owns 18,358 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $4,720,000 after acquiring an additional 155 shares during the last quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in Salesforce by 308.1% during the 2nd quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 202,074 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $51,953,000 after acquiring an additional 152,561 shares in the last quarter. ProVise Management Group LLC raised its position in Salesforce by 1.0% during the second quarter. ProVise Management Group LLC now owns 5,518 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $1,419,000 after acquiring an additional 56 shares during the last quarter. Finally, WCG Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 43.9% in the second quarter. WCG Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 16,448 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $4,229,000 after purchasing an additional 5,020 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.43% of the company’s stock.

Salesforce Stock Up 0.2 %

Shares of Salesforce stock opened at $266.57 on Friday. 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 $258.31 billion, a PE ratio of 47.94, a P/E/G 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 business has a 50-day moving average of $254.14 and a 200-day moving average of $266.67.

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

Salesforce Announces Dividend

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

Insider Transactions at Salesforce

In other news, insider Parker Harris sold 4,200 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $257.04, for a total transaction of $1,079,568.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 117,581 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $30,223,020.24. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, insider Parker Harris sold 4,200 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $257.04, for a total transaction of $1,079,568.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 117,581 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $30,223,020.24. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 413 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 23rd. The stock was 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 directly 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. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 66,576 shares of company stock valued at $16,957,573. Insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CRM has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $295.00 to $315.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $300.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Thursday. Truist Financial restated a “buy” rating and issued a $315.00 price objective (up from $300.00) on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Thursday. Roth Mkm reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $335.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. Finally, Mizuho reduced their target price on shares of Salesforce from $345.00 to $300.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 30th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-six have issued a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $306.00.

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.