IMA Advisory Services Inc. Sells 219 Shares of Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

IMA Advisory Services Inc. trimmed its holdings in Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 3.6% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 5,905 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after selling 219 shares during the quarter. IMA Advisory Services Inc.’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $1,585,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of CRM. Heartland Bank & Trust Co boosted its position 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 during the last quarter. Elwood Capital Partners LP purchased a new position in shares of Salesforce during the 4th quarter valued at about $1,337,000. Strategic Blueprint LLC lifted its position in shares of Salesforce by 13.5% during the 1st quarter. Strategic Blueprint LLC now owns 23,828 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $6,394,000 after buying an additional 2,837 shares in the last quarter. Czech National Bank lifted its position in shares of Salesforce by 6.0% during the 1st quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 219,808 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $58,988,000 after buying an additional 12,528 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Libra Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of Salesforce during the 1st quarter valued at about $328,000. 80.43% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Srinivas Tallapragada sold 6,697 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $295.00, for a total value of $1,975,615.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 41,422 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,219,490. This represents a 13.92% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Marc Benioff sold 2,250 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $271.69, for a total value of $611,302.50. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 11,862,457 shares in the company, valued at $3,222,910,942.33. This represents a 0.02% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 31,229 shares of company stock valued at $8,492,036. 3.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Salesforce Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:CRM opened at $263.80 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a current ratio of 1.07 and a quick ratio of 1.07. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $270.45 and its 200-day moving average price is $285.85. The firm has a market capitalization of $252.19 billion, a PE ratio of 41.28, a P/E/G ratio of 2.38 and a beta of 1.36. Salesforce Inc. has a 1 year low of $230.00 and a 1 year high of $369.00.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, May 28th. The CRM provider reported $2.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 the consensus estimate of $9.74 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.44 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Salesforce Inc. will post 7.46 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 10th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, June 18th were given a $0.416 dividend. This represents a $1.66 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.63%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, June 18th. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio is currently 25.98%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on CRM shares. UBS Group set a $404.00 price objective on Salesforce and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 18th. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price target on Salesforce from $350.00 to $335.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 10th. Sanford C. Bernstein boosted their price target on Salesforce from $243.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a report on Thursday, May 29th. Guggenheim raised Salesforce from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, April 21st. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on Salesforce from $340.00 to $385.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, May 29th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, twenty-seven have given a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $348.16.

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.