EP Wealth Advisors LLC Grows Stock Position in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

EP Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 20.8% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 26,451 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 4,553 shares during the period. EP Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $7,967,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of CRM. Freestone Capital Holdings LLC raised its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 1.5% in the 1st quarter. Freestone Capital Holdings LLC now owns 66,132 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $19,918,000 after purchasing an additional 947 shares during the period. CreativeOne Wealth LLC increased its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 180.6% in the 1st quarter. CreativeOne Wealth LLC now owns 7,520 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $2,265,000 after acquiring an additional 4,840 shares during the last quarter. Delap Wealth Advisory LLC increased its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 145.5% in the 1st quarter. Delap Wealth Advisory LLC now owns 2,637 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $794,000 after acquiring an additional 1,563 shares during the last quarter. Vident Advisory LLC increased its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 298.4% in the 1st quarter. Vident Advisory LLC now owns 71,287 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $21,470,000 after acquiring an additional 53,393 shares during the last quarter. Finally, MayTech Global Investments LLC boosted its position in Salesforce by 1.3% during the 1st quarter. MayTech Global Investments LLC now owns 101,098 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $30,449,000 after purchasing an additional 1,343 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.43% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have issued reports on CRM shares. Barclays reduced their price target on Salesforce from $355.00 to $305.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on Salesforce from $310.00 to $300.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 30th. Robert W. Baird dropped their price target on Salesforce from $355.00 to $295.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 30th. UBS Group dropped their price target on Salesforce from $310.00 to $250.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 30th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group dropped their target price 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 analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating, twenty-five have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $292.79.

Salesforce Stock Performance

Salesforce stock traded up $6.19 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $262.71. 5,945,795 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,808,004. Salesforce, Inc. has a 52 week low of $193.68 and a 52 week high of $318.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a current ratio of 1.11. The firm has a market cap of $254.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 46.95, a P/E/G ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 1.29. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $251.65 and its 200 day simple moving average is $275.37.

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 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 analysts’ expectations of $9.15 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.15 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 10.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 25th. Investors of record on Tuesday, July 9th were paid a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.61%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, July 9th. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 28.78%.

Insider Activity at Salesforce

In related news, CFO Amy E. Weaver sold 897 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $255.78, for a total value of $229,434.66. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 51,109 shares in the company, valued at $13,072,660.02. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other news, COO Brian Millham sold 2,106 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $280.00, for a total transaction of $589,680.00. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Amy E. Weaver sold 897 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $255.78, for a total transaction of $229,434.66. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 51,109 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,072,660.02. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 324,242 shares of company stock worth $86,279,221. Company insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

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.