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

Bard Financial Services Inc. trimmed its holdings in shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 7.3% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 6,935 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after selling 550 shares during the period. Bard Financial Services Inc.’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $1,898,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. increased its position in Salesforce by 8.7% during the second quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 60,700 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $15,606,000 after acquiring an additional 4,881 shares during the last quarter. TruWealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Salesforce by 7.1% in the 2nd quarter. TruWealth Advisors LLC now owns 848 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $218,000 after purchasing an additional 56 shares during the period. Country Club Bank boosted its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 2.0% in the second quarter. Country Club Bank now owns 5,042 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $1,275,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. DB Fitzpatrick & Co Inc grew its position in Salesforce by 31.1% during the second quarter. DB Fitzpatrick & Co Inc now owns 5,093 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $1,309,000 after buying an additional 1,209 shares during the period. Finally, Red Door Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in Salesforce by 13.1% in the 2nd quarter. Red Door Wealth Management LLC now owns 17,652 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $4,538,000 after purchasing an additional 2,048 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.43% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on CRM shares. Northland Capmk upgraded shares of Salesforce from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on Salesforce from $390.00 to $425.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Citigroup raised their price objective on Salesforce from $368.00 to $390.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Evercore ISI reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $300.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Monday, August 26th. Finally, Oppenheimer reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $415.00 target price (up from $385.00) on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have issued a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $372.86.

Insider Buying and Selling at Salesforce

In related news, insider Miguel Milano sold 719 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $342.81, for a total transaction of $246,480.39. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 4,659 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,597,151.79. The trade was a 13.37 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Parker Harris sold 4,200 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $257.04, for a total transaction of $1,079,568.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 117,581 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $30,223,020.24. This represents a 3.45 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 138,498 shares of company stock worth $40,983,349 in the last ninety days. 3.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Salesforce Trading Up 0.8 %

Shares of CRM opened at $351.49 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $336.38 billion, a PE ratio of 57.38, a P/E/G ratio of 3.27 and a beta of 1.30. Salesforce, Inc. has a 12 month low of $212.00 and a 12 month high of $369.00. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $311.53 and its two-hundred day moving average is $273.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 1.11.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, December 3rd. The CRM provider reported $2.41 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.44 by ($0.03). Salesforce had a net margin of 15.96% and a return on equity of 12.34%. The firm had revenue of $9.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.35 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.62 earnings per share. Salesforce’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 9th. Investors of record on Wednesday, December 18th will be issued a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, December 18th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.46%. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio is presently 26.32%.

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.