Guardian Asset Advisors LLC Acquires 195 Shares of Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Guardian Asset Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 12.2% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,799 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 195 shares during the quarter. Guardian Asset Advisors LLC’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $483,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Athena Investment Management purchased a new position in Salesforce in the 4th quarter worth about $236,000. Jag Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Salesforce by 2,507.9% during the fourth quarter. Jag Capital Management LLC now owns 23,706 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $7,926,000 after acquiring an additional 22,797 shares during the period. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp raised its stake in shares of Salesforce by 2.7% during the fourth quarter. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp now owns 27,358 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $9,146,000 after acquiring an additional 723 shares in the last quarter. Millstone Evans Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Salesforce in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $823,000. Finally, Heartland Bank & Trust Co grew its stake in Salesforce by 117.2% in the first quarter. Heartland Bank & Trust Co now owns 5,981 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $1,605,000 after purchasing an additional 3,227 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.43% of the company’s stock.

Salesforce Trading Up 0.7%

Shares of Salesforce stock opened at $272.72 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $260.72 billion, a PE ratio of 42.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.48 and a beta of 1.38. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $270.38 and a 200 day moving average price of $294.25. Salesforce Inc. has a 1 year low of $230.00 and a 1 year high of $369.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a current ratio of 1.07 and a quick ratio of 1.07.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 12.94% and a net margin of 16.08%. The business had revenue of $9.83 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.74 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.44 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 7.6% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that Salesforce Inc. will post 7.46 earnings per share for the current year.

Salesforce Cuts Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 10th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, June 18th will be given a $0.416 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, June 18th. This represents a $1.66 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.61%. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio is presently 25.98%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CRM has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Erste Group Bank lowered Salesforce from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 5th. Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $425.00 to $347.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 29th. Macquarie reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $320.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. Westpark Capital reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $320.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Wednesday, May 28th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group cut their price objective on shares of 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 assigned a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Salesforce currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $349.08.

Insider Transactions at Salesforce

In other Salesforce news, insider Miguel Milano sold 405 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $262.35, for a total value of $106,251.75. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 9,933 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,605,922.55. This trade represents a 3.92% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 261 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $262.35, for a total value of $68,473.35. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 12,024 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,154,496.40. The trade was a 2.12% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 26,284 shares of company stock valued at $6,996,762 in the last 90 days. 3.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.