Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM) Holdings Lifted by Praxis Investment Management Inc.

Praxis Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 13.9% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 26,240 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after buying an additional 3,200 shares during the quarter. Praxis Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $7,042,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of CRM. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. purchased a new position in shares of Salesforce during the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. Accredited Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Salesforce in the fourth quarter valued at about $27,000. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Salesforce in the fourth quarter valued at about $35,000. Wood Tarver Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in Salesforce in the fourth quarter valued at about $35,000. Finally, VSM Wealth Advisory LLC purchased a new position in Salesforce in the fourth quarter valued at about $45,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.43% of the company’s stock.

Salesforce Price Performance

Shares of CRM stock opened at $260.79 on Friday. 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 company has a market capitalization of $249.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.81, a P/E/G ratio of 2.35 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 stock has a 50 day moving average of $268.51 and a two-hundred day moving average of $297.74.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, May 28th. The CRM provider reported $2.58 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.55 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $9.83 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.74 billion. Salesforce had a return on equity of 12.94% and a net margin of 16.08%. Salesforce’s revenue was up 7.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.44 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Salesforce Inc. will post 7.46 EPS for the current year.

Salesforce Cuts Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 10th. Investors of record on Wednesday, June 18th will be given a dividend of $0.416 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, June 18th. This represents a $1.66 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.64%. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 25.98%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Srinivas Tallapragada sold 6,697 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $295.00, for a total transaction of $1,975,615.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 41,422 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,219,490. The trade was a 13.92% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Parker Harris sold 3,273 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction on Monday, March 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $284.58, for a total value of $931,430.34. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 125,146 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $35,614,048.68. This trade represents a 2.55% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 34,111 shares of company stock worth $9,299,283 in the last 90 days. 3.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CRM has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Morgan Stanley restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $404.00 target price (up previously from $393.00) on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Thursday, May 29th. Stephens lowered their target price on Salesforce from $311.00 to $309.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 30th. Mizuho lowered their target price on Salesforce from $425.00 to $380.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 15th. Piper Sandler boosted their target price on Salesforce from $315.00 to $335.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 28th. Finally, Westpark Capital reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $320.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Wednesday, May 28th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, twenty-eight have given a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $349.08.

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.