Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) Shares Sold by Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc.

Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. cut its stake in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 9.6% during the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 42,148 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after selling 4,453 shares during the period. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc.’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $10,837,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of CRM. GM Advisory Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Salesforce in the 2nd quarter worth about $227,000. Wealth Advisors of Tampa Bay LLC increased its stake in shares of Salesforce by 0.9% in the second quarter. Wealth Advisors of Tampa Bay LLC now owns 18,358 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $4,720,000 after purchasing an additional 155 shares during the period. Intech Investment Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Salesforce by 308.1% during the second quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 202,074 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $51,953,000 after buying an additional 152,561 shares during the period. ProVise Management Group LLC grew its holdings in Salesforce by 1.0% in the 2nd quarter. ProVise Management Group LLC now owns 5,518 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $1,419,000 after buying an additional 56 shares in the last quarter. Finally, WCG Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in Salesforce by 43.9% in the 2nd quarter. WCG Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 16,448 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $4,229,000 after acquiring an additional 5,020 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.43% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the company. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on Salesforce from $265.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. TD Cowen increased their target price on shares of Salesforce from $285.00 to $290.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. DA Davidson boosted their price target on shares of Salesforce from $230.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. Raymond James upped their price target on shares of Salesforce from $325.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $345.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Friday. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-six have issued a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Salesforce has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $306.00.

Insider Transactions at Salesforce

In other Salesforce news, COO Brian Millham sold 1,678 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, June 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $242.32, for a total transaction of $406,612.96. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 1,662 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $402,735.84. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other Salesforce news, COO Brian Millham sold 1,678 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $242.32, for a total transaction of $406,612.96. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 1,662 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $402,735.84. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Srinivas Tallapragada sold 942 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $242.32, for a total value of $228,265.44. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 22,154 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,368,357.28. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 66,576 shares of company stock worth $16,957,573 in the last 90 days. 3.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Salesforce Stock Up 0.2 %

Salesforce stock opened at $266.57 on Friday. Salesforce, Inc. has a twelve month low of $193.68 and a twelve month high of $318.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a current ratio of 1.04. The firm has a market cap of $258.31 billion, a PE ratio of 47.94, a P/E/G ratio of 2.26 and a beta of 1.29. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $254.14 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $266.67.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 28th. The CRM provider reported $2.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.36 by $0.20. Salesforce had a return on equity of 12.01% and a net margin of 15.44%. The business had revenue of $9.33 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.22 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.63 earnings per share. Salesforce’s quarterly revenue was up 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts predict that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 8th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, September 18th will be given a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.60%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, September 18th. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio is 28.78%.

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.