Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM) Shares Sold by Maryland State Retirement & Pension System

Maryland State Retirement & Pension System lessened its stake in Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM - Free Report) by 13.4% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 43,217 shares of the CRM provider's stock after selling 6,659 shares during the quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System's holdings in Salesforce were worth $11,598,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

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Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. purchased a new stake in Salesforce during the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. Accredited Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Salesforce in the fourth quarter valued at $27,000. Wood Tarver Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in Salesforce during the 4th quarter valued at about $35,000. Capital A Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 450.0% in the first 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. Finally, CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC increased its stake in shares of Salesforce by 314.8% during the 1st quarter. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 112 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 85 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.43% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $400.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Wednesday, May 28th. Guggenheim raised Salesforce from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, April 21st. Northland Securities reduced their price objective on Salesforce from $423.00 to $396.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 29th. Canaccord Genuity Group dropped their price objective on Salesforce from $400.00 to $350.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, May 28th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald cut shares of Salesforce from an "overweight" rating to a "cautious" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, twenty-seven have issued a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $348.16.

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Read Our Latest Research Report on CRM

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other 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 directly owned 41,422 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,219,490. This trade represents a 13.92% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Marc Benioff sold 2,250 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, July 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $259.67, for a total transaction of $584,257.50. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 11,955,566 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,104,501,823.22. This represents a 0.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 44,229 shares of company stock valued at $11,898,691. 3.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Salesforce Stock Performance

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Salesforce stock opened at $248.87 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $237.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.95, a PEG ratio of 2.25 and a beta of 1.37. The stock's 50 day moving average is $264.50 and its 200 day moving average is $280.68. Salesforce Inc. has a twelve month low of $230.00 and a twelve month high of $369.00. The company has a quick ratio of 1.07, a current ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, May 28th. The CRM provider reported $2.58 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.55 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $9.83 billion for 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 quarterly revenue was up 7.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.44 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that Salesforce Inc. will post 7.46 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 10th. Investors of record on Wednesday, June 18th were issued a dividend of $0.416 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, June 18th. This represents a $1.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.7%. Salesforce's payout ratio is presently 25.98%.

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.

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