Occidental Asset Management LLC Reduces Stock Position in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Occidental Asset Management LLC decreased its position in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 7.3% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 4,504 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after selling 353 shares during the quarter. Occidental Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $1,357,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of CRM. Bear Mountain Capital Inc. bought a new position in shares of Salesforce during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Signature Resources Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Salesforce during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Kathleen S. Wright Associates Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Salesforce during the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. Pacifica Partners Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Salesforce by 333.3% in the 4th quarter. Pacifica Partners Inc. now owns 130 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the period. Finally, BKM Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Salesforce during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $34,000. 80.43% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Salesforce Stock Performance

NYSE CRM traded up $4.25 on Friday, hitting $257.10. 12,619,303 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 11,223,949. The company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $259.79 and its 200-day moving average price is $276.20. The company has a market capitalization of $249.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 46.24, a P/E/G ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 1.25. Salesforce, Inc. has a 52-week low of $193.68 and a 52-week high of $318.71.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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. Salesforce had a return on equity of 11.57% and a net margin of 15.30%. The company had revenue of $9.13 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.15 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.15 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 10.7% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts expect that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.47 earnings per share for the current year.

Salesforce Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 25th. Investors of record on Tuesday, July 9th will be issued a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.62%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, July 9th. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio is currently 7.19%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have commented on the company. Raymond James reissued a “strong-buy” rating and set a $325.00 price objective (down previously from $380.00) on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Thursday, May 30th. Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their price target on shares of Salesforce from $231.00 to $234.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 30th. Wolfe Research restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $365.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a report on Tuesday, April 16th. Wedbush lowered their target price on shares of Salesforce from $325.00 to $315.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, May 29th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group dropped their price target on Salesforce from $350.00 to $300.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research 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 assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $292.79.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Amy E. Weaver sold 5,864 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $274.77, for a total value of $1,611,251.28. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 45,231 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,428,121.87. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, CFO Amy E. Weaver sold 5,864 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $274.77, for a total value of $1,611,251.28. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 45,231 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,428,121.87. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Parker Harris sold 5,600 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $250.17, for a total transaction of $1,400,952.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 116,693 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $29,193,087.81. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 547,387 shares of company stock worth $151,174,635. Corporate insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

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.