Howard Capital Management Group LLC Sells 715 Shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Howard Capital Management Group LLC lowered its stake in shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRMFree Report) by 0.6% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 114,345 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after selling 715 shares during the quarter. Salesforce comprises 2.4% of Howard Capital Management Group LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 15th largest holding. Howard Capital Management Group LLC’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $30,685,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CRM. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Salesforce during the 4th quarter valued at $3,599,867,000. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main increased its position in Salesforce by 926.4% during the 4th quarter. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main now owns 4,256,211 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $1,422,979,000 after buying an additional 3,841,521 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in Salesforce by 30,456.9% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,801,588 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $1,020,194,000 after buying an additional 3,789,147 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in Salesforce in the fourth quarter worth about $1,173,564,000. Finally, Invesco Ltd. boosted its holdings in Salesforce by 42.5% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 7,791,015 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $2,604,770,000 after acquiring an additional 2,325,156 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.43% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Salesforce

In other Salesforce news, insider R David Schmaier sold 6,959 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $253.31, for a total value of $1,762,784.29. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 36,090 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,141,957.90. This represents a 16.17% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Parker Harris sold 3,273 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $284.58, for a total value of $931,430.34. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 125,146 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $35,614,048.68. This represents a 2.55% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 40,332 shares of company stock valued at $11,024,802. 3.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Salesforce Stock Performance

NYSE:CRM opened at $266.56 on Friday. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $254.83 billion, a PE ratio of 43.84, a P/E/G ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 1.38. Salesforce, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $227.77 and a fifty-two week high of $369.00. The company has a fifty day moving average of $267.80 and a two-hundred day moving average of $300.72.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRMGet Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 28th. The CRM provider reported $2.58 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.55 by $0.03. Salesforce had a net margin of 15.96% and a return on equity of 12.34%. The firm had revenue of $9.83 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.74 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.44 EPS. Salesforce’s quarterly revenue was up 7.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts forecast that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.46 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 10th. Investors of record on Wednesday, June 18th will be given a dividend of $0.416 per share. This represents a $1.66 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.62%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, June 18th. Salesforce’s payout ratio is 25.98%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently commented on CRM. Erste Group Bank lowered shares of Salesforce from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 5th. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price target on shares of Salesforce from $425.00 to $375.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Mizuho lowered their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $425.00 to $380.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 15th. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their target price on Salesforce from $425.00 to $375.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, March 31st. Finally, Redburn Atlantic assumed coverage on Salesforce in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. They set a “buy” rating on the stock. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating, twenty-seven have issued a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Salesforce presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $346.34.

Check Out Our Latest Analysis on Salesforce

Salesforce Profile

(Free Report)

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.

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Institutional Ownership by Quarter for Salesforce (NYSE:CRM)

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