Atala Financial Inc Purchases 1,467 Shares of Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Atala Financial Inc lifted its position in shares of Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 25.2% during the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 7,292 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,467 shares during the quarter. Salesforce comprises 1.5% of Atala Financial Inc’s portfolio, making the stock its 18th biggest holding. Atala Financial Inc’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $1,958,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. bought a new stake in Salesforce in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Accredited Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Salesforce in the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Salesforce during the 4th quarter valued at $35,000. Wood Tarver Financial Group LLC bought a new position in Salesforce during the fourth quarter worth $35,000. Finally, VSM Wealth Advisory LLC acquired a new position in shares of Salesforce in the fourth quarter valued at $45,000. 80.43% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Salesforce

In other news, insider Srinivas Tallapragada sold 6,697 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $295.00, for a total value of $1,975,615.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 41,422 shares in the company, valued at $12,219,490. The trade was a 13.92% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Brian Millham sold 979 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $253.66, for a total transaction of $248,333.14. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 6,487 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,645,492.42. This represents a 13.11% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 26,284 shares of company stock valued at $6,996,762. 3.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Salesforce Trading Down 1.1%

NYSE CRM opened at $268.11 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $256.31 billion, a PE ratio of 41.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.46 and a beta of 1.38. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $269.39 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $295.75. 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 Inc. has a 12 month low of $230.00 and a 12 month high of $369.00.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last released its 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 16.08% and a return on equity of 12.94%. The business had revenue of $9.83 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.74 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.44 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts expect that Salesforce Inc. will post 7.46 EPS for the current year.

Salesforce Cuts Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently commented on the stock. Oppenheimer reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $370.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a report on Tuesday, June 10th. Loop Capital reduced their price objective on Salesforce from $330.00 to $300.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 27th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on Salesforce from $340.00 to $385.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 29th. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price target on Salesforce from $425.00 to $375.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, March 31st. Finally, UBS Group set a $404.00 price target on Salesforce and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 18th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, twenty-eight have assigned a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $349.08.

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.