Bard Financial Services Inc. Cuts Stock Position in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Bard Financial Services Inc. decreased its position in shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 7.7% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 6,885 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after selling 575 shares during the period. Bard Financial Services Inc.’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $1,455,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. NewSquare Capital LLC grew its position in shares of Salesforce by 132.8% during the first quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 149 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 85 shares in the last quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. grew its position in shares of Salesforce by 30.4% during the fourth quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 270 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 63 shares in the last quarter. Live Oak Investment Partners purchased a new position in shares of Salesforce during the fourth quarter valued at about $36,000. Delta Asset Management LLC TN purchased a new position in shares of Salesforce during the fourth quarter valued at about $39,000. Finally, HBC Financial Services PLLC grew its position in shares of Salesforce by 350.0% during the second quarter. HBC Financial Services PLLC now owns 225 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 175 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 77.52% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently commented on CRM shares. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on shares of Salesforce from $255.00 to $262.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, August 31st. Roth Capital reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Salesforce in a report on Thursday, June 1st. Bank of America increased their price target on shares of Salesforce from $250.00 to $280.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 31st. Mizuho increased their price target on shares of Salesforce from $250.00 to $255.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 31st. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Salesforce from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 31st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating, twenty-five have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $240.59.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Salesforce news, CEO Marc Benioff sold 15,000 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $219.71, for a total value of $3,295,650.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 15,816,166 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,474,969,831.86. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, COO Brian Millham sold 78,870 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $210.94, for a total transaction of $16,636,837.80. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Marc Benioff sold 15,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $219.71, for a total transaction of $3,295,650.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 15,816,166 shares in the company, valued at $3,474,969,831.86. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 698,191 shares of company stock valued at $152,203,804. 3.70% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Salesforce Stock Performance

Shares of CRM stock opened at $214.61 on Monday. The company’s 50 day moving average is $218.24 and its 200 day moving average is $206.68. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. Salesforce, Inc. has a 52-week low of $126.34 and a 52-week high of $238.22. The firm has a market cap of $208.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 134.97, a PEG ratio of 1.66 and a beta of 1.19.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 30th. The CRM provider reported $2.12 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.90 by $0.22. Salesforce had a net margin of 4.77% and a return on equity of 7.67%. The business had revenue of $8.60 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.53 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.52 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Salesforce, Inc. will post 5.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce 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 relationship intelligence, and deliver quotes, contracts, and invoices; and service that enables companies to deliver trusted and highly personalized customer service and support at scale.