Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) Shares Sold by Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P.

Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. lowered its stake in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 32.0% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 609,305 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after selling 286,923 shares during the quarter. Salesforce comprises 1.6% of Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P.’s portfolio, making the stock its 20th largest position. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. owned about 0.06% of Salesforce worth $183,511,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of CRM. Bear Mountain Capital Inc. purchased a new position in Salesforce in the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. Signature Resources Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Salesforce during the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Kathleen S. Wright Associates Inc. acquired a new position in Salesforce during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Pacifica Partners Inc. boosted its position in Salesforce by 333.3% during the 4th quarter. Pacifica Partners Inc. now owns 130 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the period. Finally, BKM Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Salesforce during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.43% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Salesforce news, COO Brian Millham sold 2,018 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $260.00, for a total transaction of $524,680.00. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, COO Brian Millham sold 2,018 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $260.00, for a total value of $524,680.00. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Marc Benioff sold 15,000 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $305.42, for a total transaction of $4,581,300.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 12,981,166 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,964,707,719.72. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 509,952 shares of company stock worth $139,786,753. Company insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently commented on the company. Wedbush dropped their price objective on Salesforce from $325.00 to $315.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, May 29th. Barclays decreased their target price on Salesforce from $355.00 to $305.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 30th. UBS Group decreased their target price on Salesforce from $310.00 to $250.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 30th. DA Davidson decreased their target price on Salesforce from $300.00 to $230.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 30th. Finally, Macquarie decreased their target price on Salesforce from $330.00 to $275.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 31st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating, twenty-five have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $292.79.

Salesforce Stock Performance

Salesforce stock traded down $1.15 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $255.06. 584,671 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,925,018. Salesforce, Inc. has a 52 week low of $193.68 and a 52 week high of $318.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a current ratio of 1.11. The firm has a market cap of $247.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 46.07, a P/E/G ratio of 2.26 and a beta of 1.29. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $259.79 and its 200 day simple moving average is $276.47.

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

Salesforce Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 25th. Investors of record on Tuesday, July 9th will be issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.63%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, July 9th. Salesforce’s payout ratio is currently 7.19%.

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.