Sterling Investment Counsel LLC Increases Holdings in Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Sterling Investment Counsel LLC lifted its position in Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 277.9% in the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 4,316 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,174 shares during the quarter. Sterling Investment Counsel LLC’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $1,158,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Athena Investment Management purchased a new position in shares of Salesforce in the fourth quarter worth about $236,000. Jag Capital Management LLC raised its position in Salesforce by 2,507.9% during the fourth quarter. Jag Capital Management LLC now owns 23,706 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $7,926,000 after acquiring an additional 22,797 shares in the last quarter. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp raised its position in Salesforce by 2.7% during the fourth quarter. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp now owns 27,358 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $9,146,000 after acquiring an additional 723 shares in the last quarter. Dash Acquisitions Inc. raised its position in Salesforce by 2.6% during the fourth quarter. Dash Acquisitions Inc. now owns 60,521 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $21,785,000 after acquiring an additional 1,525 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Millstone Evans Group LLC purchased a new position in Salesforce during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $823,000. 80.43% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Salesforce news, insider R David Schmaier sold 1,785 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $288.34, for a total transaction of $514,686.90. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 29,190 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,416,644.60. The trade was a 5.76% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Parker Harris sold 3,273 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $284.58, for a total value of $931,430.34. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 125,146 shares in the company, valued at $35,614,048.68. This trade represents a 2.55% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 34,111 shares of company stock valued at $9,299,283. Insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently weighed in on CRM. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price target on Salesforce from $367.00 to $350.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, May 27th. Robert W. Baird reduced their price target on Salesforce from $430.00 to $400.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Guggenheim upgraded Salesforce from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, April 21st. Bank of America reduced their price target on Salesforce from $440.00 to $400.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price target on Salesforce from $425.00 to $375.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, twenty-eight have issued a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Salesforce presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $349.08.

Salesforce Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:CRM opened at $258.98 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a current ratio of 1.07 and a quick ratio of 1.07. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $268.31 and its 200-day moving average price is $298.72. The firm has a market capitalization of $247.59 billion, a PE ratio of 40.53, a P/E/G ratio of 2.38 and a beta of 1.38. Salesforce Inc. has a 1 year low of $230.00 and a 1 year high of $369.00.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 28th. The CRM provider reported $2.58 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.55 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $9.83 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.74 billion. Salesforce had a return on equity of 12.94% and a net margin of 16.08%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.44 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Salesforce Inc. will post 7.46 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Cuts Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 10th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, June 18th will be paid a dividend of $0.416 per share. This represents a $1.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.64%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, June 18th. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 25.98%.

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.