Clarity Wealth Advisors LLC Grows Stock Holdings in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Clarity Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 5.7% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,629 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after buying an additional 88 shares during the quarter. Clarity Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $491,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Salesforce during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $2,762,331,000. Capital International Investors raised its position in shares of Salesforce by 76.4% during the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 13,708,615 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $3,607,493,000 after purchasing an additional 5,935,973 shares during the last quarter. Cerity Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Salesforce by 1,254.7% during the 4th quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 3,483,670 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $916,693,000 after purchasing an additional 3,226,512 shares during the last quarter. Coatue Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Salesforce during the 4th quarter worth approximately $564,188,000. Finally, DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main raised its position in shares of Salesforce by 110.3% during the 4th quarter. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main now owns 3,394,912 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $893,336,000 after purchasing an additional 1,780,421 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.43% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Salesforce

In related news, insider Parker Harris sold 5,600 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 116,693 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $29,193,087.81. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, CEO Marc Benioff sold 15,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $216.66, for a total value of $3,249,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 12,407,327 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,688,171,467.82. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Parker Harris sold 5,600 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the insider now owns 116,693 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $29,193,087.81. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 547,387 shares of company stock valued at $151,174,635 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

Salesforce Stock Performance

NYSE CRM traded up $4.25 on Friday, hitting $257.10. The stock had a trading volume of 12,619,303 shares, compared to its average volume of 11,223,949. Salesforce, Inc. has a one year low of $193.68 and a one year high of $318.71. The company has a quick ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. The stock has a market cap of $249.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 46.24, a P/E/G ratio of 2.26 and a beta of 1.25. The company’s 50-day moving average is $259.79 and its two-hundred day moving average is $276.47.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, May 29th. The CRM provider reported $2.44 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.38 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $9.13 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.15 billion. Salesforce had a net margin of 15.30% and a return on equity of 11.57%. Salesforce’s quarterly revenue was up 10.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.15 EPS. On average, analysts expect that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.47 earnings per share for the current year.

Salesforce Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 25th. Investors of record on Tuesday, July 9th will be paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. 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 presently 7.19%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently issued reports on CRM. UBS Group cut their price objective on Salesforce from $310.00 to $250.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 30th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their target price on shares of Salesforce from $360.00 to $350.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their target price on shares of Salesforce from $350.00 to $300.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. Citigroup lowered their target price on shares of Salesforce from $323.00 to $260.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $310.00 to $300.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating, twenty-five have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Salesforce currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $292.79.

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.