Trifecta Capital Advisors LLC Raises Stock Position in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Trifecta Capital Advisors LLC grew its stake in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 4.1% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 22,499 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 879 shares during the quarter. Salesforce makes up 1.6% of Trifecta Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 16th biggest position. Trifecta Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $6,776,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of CRM. Marks Group Wealth Management Inc raised its position in shares of Salesforce by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Marks Group Wealth Management Inc now owns 35,220 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $9,268,000 after buying an additional 257 shares during the last quarter. Spartan Planning & Wealth Management lifted its stake in Salesforce by 66.3% in the 4th quarter. Spartan Planning & Wealth Management now owns 1,567 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $412,000 after purchasing an additional 625 shares in the last quarter. Roman Butler Fullerton & Co. grew its position in shares of Salesforce by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. Roman Butler Fullerton & Co. now owns 7,881 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $2,206,000 after purchasing an additional 105 shares in the last quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC lifted its position in Salesforce by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC now owns 5,951,415 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $1,566,055,000 after buying an additional 18,397 shares in the last quarter. Finally, TD Asset Management Inc boosted its stake in Salesforce by 32.6% during the fourth quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 789,525 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $207,756,000 after buying an additional 194,224 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.43% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently commented on CRM shares. Macquarie reduced their price target on Salesforce from $330.00 to $275.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 31st. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their target price on shares of Salesforce from $360.00 to $350.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 30th. Barclays cut their price target on shares of Salesforce from $355.00 to $305.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 30th. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price objective on Salesforce from $335.00 to $265.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 30th. Finally, UBS Group reduced their target price on Salesforce from $310.00 to $250.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 30th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating, twenty-five have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $292.79.

Salesforce Stock Up 1.7 %

Shares of NYSE CRM traded up $4.25 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $257.10. The company had a trading volume of 12,619,303 shares, compared to its average volume of 11,223,949. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $259.79 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $276.20. Salesforce, Inc. has a 52-week low of $193.68 and a 52-week high of $318.71. 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 stock has a market cap of $249.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 46.24, a PEG ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 1.25.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 29th. The CRM provider reported $2.44 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.15 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.15 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 10.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.47 earnings per share for the current year.

Salesforce Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 25th. Investors of record on Tuesday, July 9th will be given a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, July 9th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.62%. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 7.19%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CFO Amy E. Weaver sold 5,864 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 45,231 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,428,121.87. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other Salesforce news, CFO Amy E. Weaver sold 5,864 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $274.77, for a total transaction of $1,611,251.28. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 45,231 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,428,121.87. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Parker Harris sold 4,200 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $301.75, for a total value of $1,267,350.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 105,837 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $31,936,314.75. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 547,387 shares of company stock worth $151,174,635 in the last 90 days. Company 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.