Nelson Capital Management LLC Has $2.28 Million Stock Holdings in Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Nelson Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 3.8% in the first quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 8,494 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after buying an additional 312 shares during the period. Nelson Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $2,279,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. purchased a new stake in Salesforce in the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. Accredited Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Salesforce during the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Capital A Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in Salesforce by 450.0% during the 1st quarter. Capital A Wealth Management LLC now owns 110 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 90 shares in the last quarter. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC increased its stake in shares of Salesforce by 314.8% in the first quarter. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 112 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 85 shares during the period. Finally, Abound Financial LLC acquired a new stake in Salesforce during the first quarter valued at $31,000. Institutional investors own 80.43% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Salesforce

In related news, CEO Marc Benioff sold 2,250 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $272.48, for a total transaction of $613,080.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 11,862,457 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,232,282,283.36. The trade was a 0.02% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Srinivas Tallapragada sold 6,697 shares of Salesforce 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 sale, the insider owned 41,422 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,219,490. The trade was a 13.92% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 36,069 shares of company stock worth $9,698,893. 3.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Salesforce Price Performance

Shares of CRM stock opened at $265.01 on Tuesday. Salesforce Inc. has a 1 year low of $230.00 and a 1 year 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. The firm has a market capitalization of $253.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.49, a PEG ratio of 2.38 and a beta of 1.36. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $270.45 and its 200-day moving average is $285.85.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.74 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.44 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 7.6% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that Salesforce Inc. will post 7.46 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Cuts Dividend

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $400.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Wednesday, May 28th. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price target on shares of Salesforce from $350.00 to $335.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. Westpark Capital reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $320.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Wednesday, May 28th. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and issued a $275.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Monday, July 14th. Finally, Oppenheimer restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $370.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a report on Tuesday, June 10th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, twenty-seven have given a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $348.16.

Salesforce 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.