Van Hulzen Asset Management LLC Lowers Position in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Van Hulzen Asset Management LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 91.9% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 919 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after selling 10,428 shares during the quarter. Van Hulzen Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $236,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. FARMERS & MERCHANTS TRUST Co OF LONG BEACH grew its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 6.5% during the second quarter. FARMERS & MERCHANTS TRUST Co OF LONG BEACH now owns 5,373 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $1,381,000 after purchasing an additional 329 shares in the last quarter. Vision Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in Salesforce by 8.6% in the 2nd quarter. Vision Capital Management Inc. now owns 22,214 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $5,711,000 after buying an additional 1,767 shares in the last quarter. RPG Investment Advisory LLC increased its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 0.5% in the 2nd quarter. RPG Investment Advisory LLC now owns 36,761 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $9,451,000 after buying an additional 169 shares during the last quarter. Doheny Asset Management CA purchased a new stake in shares of Salesforce during the 2nd quarter valued at $1,434,000. Finally, Andra AP fonden lifted its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 83.1% during the 2nd quarter. Andra AP fonden now owns 148,298 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $38,127,000 after acquiring an additional 67,300 shares during the last quarter. 80.43% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Parker Harris sold 2,800 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $241.22, for a total transaction of $675,416.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 117,581 shares in the company, valued at $28,362,888.82. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other Salesforce news, Director Oscar Munoz purchased 2,051 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 21st. The stock was purchased at an average price of $243.69 per share, for a total transaction of $499,808.19. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 7,026 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,712,165.94. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Parker Harris sold 2,800 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $241.22, for a total value of $675,416.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 117,581 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $28,362,888.82. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 59,892 shares of company stock valued at $15,269,897. Insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently commented on CRM. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $345.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Friday, September 6th. BNP Paribas upgraded Salesforce to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. TD Cowen boosted their target price on Salesforce from $285.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. DA Davidson upped their target price on Salesforce from $230.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. Finally, Oppenheimer lifted their price target on shares of Salesforce from $280.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-seven have given a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $304.41.

Salesforce Price Performance

CRM stock opened at $246.13 on Wednesday. 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 capitalization of $238.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 44.27, a PEG ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 1.29. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $254.11 and a 200-day moving average price of $268.91. Salesforce, Inc. has a 52-week low of $193.68 and a 52-week high of $318.71.

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, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 analysts’ expectations of $9.22 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.63 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 8th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, September 18th will be paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, September 18th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.65%. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio is currently 28.78%.

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.