Kennedy Investment Group Purchases 615 Shares of Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Kennedy Investment Group lifted its position in shares of Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 65.4% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,556 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 615 shares during the period. Kennedy Investment Group’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $418,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 4.1% during the fourth quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 787 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $263,000 after purchasing an additional 31 shares in the last quarter. Mainstream Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Salesforce by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Mainstream Capital Management LLC now owns 6,409 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $2,143,000 after acquiring an additional 33 shares during the period. Delap Wealth Advisory LLC lifted its stake in Salesforce by 2.7% during the 4th quarter. Delap Wealth Advisory LLC now owns 1,336 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $447,000 after acquiring an additional 35 shares during the period. Pine Valley Investments Ltd Liability Co lifted its stake in Salesforce by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Pine Valley Investments Ltd Liability Co now owns 7,082 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $2,369,000 after acquiring an additional 35 shares during the period. Finally, Wulff Hansen & CO. lifted its stake in Salesforce by 3.5% during the 4th quarter. Wulff Hansen & CO. now owns 1,035 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $346,000 after acquiring an additional 35 shares during the period. 80.43% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Sanford C. Bernstein increased their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $243.00 to $255.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 29th. Oppenheimer reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $370.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a report on Tuesday, June 10th. Erste Group Bank cut Salesforce from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, June 5th. Bank of America lowered their target price on Salesforce from $440.00 to $400.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lowered their target price on Salesforce from $425.00 to $375.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, March 31st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, twenty-eight have issued a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $349.08.

Insider Transactions at Salesforce

In other news, insider Miguel Milano sold 705 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, May 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $279.44, for a total transaction of $197,005.20. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 9,323 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,605,219.12. This represents a 7.03% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Srinivas Tallapragada sold 6,697 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $295.00, for a total transaction of $1,975,615.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 41,422 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,219,490. This represents a 13.92% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 34,111 shares of company stock worth $9,299,283. Insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

Salesforce Stock Up 0.5%

Shares of CRM opened at $260.79 on Friday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $268.51 and its 200 day moving average is $297.25. The company has a market capitalization of $249.31 billion, a PE ratio of 40.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 1.38. Salesforce Inc. has a 12-month low of $230.00 and a 12-month high of $369.00. The company has a current ratio of 1.07, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 28th. The CRM provider reported $2.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.55 by $0.03. Salesforce had a net margin of 16.08% and a return on equity of 12.94%. The company had revenue of $9.83 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.74 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.44 EPS. Salesforce’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that Salesforce Inc. will post 7.46 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 10th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, June 18th will be issued a $0.416 dividend. This represents a $1.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.64%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, June 18th. Salesforce’s payout ratio is presently 25.98%.

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.