Beech Hill Advisors Inc. Decreases Position in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Beech Hill Advisors Inc. cut its stake in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 0.7% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 12,504 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after selling 85 shares during the quarter. Salesforce makes up approximately 1.6% of Beech Hill Advisors Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 24th largest holding. Beech Hill Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $3,766,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Eagle Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in Salesforce by 200.5% in the 3rd quarter. Eagle Asset Management Inc. now owns 35,669 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $7,233,000 after purchasing an additional 23,800 shares in the last quarter. Pegasus Partners Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 9.6% during the 3rd quarter. Pegasus Partners Ltd. now owns 1,063 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $216,000 after buying an additional 93 shares during the last quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust increased its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 4.6% during the 3rd quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 2,886 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $585,000 after buying an additional 128 shares during the last quarter. Operose Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 401.0% during the 3rd quarter. Operose Advisors LLC now owns 481 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $98,000 after buying an additional 385 shares during the last quarter. Finally, O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 28.4% during the 3rd quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 58,244 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $11,811,000 after buying an additional 12,882 shares during the last quarter. 80.43% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Salesforce Price Performance

Salesforce stock opened at $241.80 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $234.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 43.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 1.25. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $261.10 and a 200-day simple moving average of $276.56. Salesforce, Inc. has a 12-month low of $193.68 and a 12-month high of $318.71. The company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 29th. The CRM provider reported $2.44 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.38 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $9.13 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.15 billion. Salesforce had a net margin of 15.30% and a return on equity of 11.57%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.15 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on CRM shares. BMO Capital Markets cut their price target on shares of Salesforce from $335.00 to $265.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 30th. Mizuho cut their price target on shares of Salesforce from $345.00 to $300.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 30th. Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and set a $345.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a report on Thursday, May 30th. Robert W. Baird cut their price target on shares of Salesforce from $355.00 to $295.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 30th. Finally, Oppenheimer cut their price target on shares of Salesforce from $325.00 to $280.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 30th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating, twenty-five have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Salesforce presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $292.79.

Insider Activity at Salesforce

In related news, CFO Amy E. Weaver sold 5,864 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $274.77, for a total value of $1,611,251.28. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 45,231 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,428,121.87. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, CFO Amy E. Weaver sold 5,864 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $274.77, for a total value of $1,611,251.28. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 45,231 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,428,121.87. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Parker Harris sold 4,200 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $301.75, for a total transaction of $1,267,350.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 105,837 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $31,936,314.75. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 541,787 shares of company stock valued at $149,773,683 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

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.