Lokken Investment Group LLC Sells 40 Shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Lokken Investment Group LLC reduced its stake in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 1.1% in the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 3,553 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after selling 40 shares during the period. Lokken Investment Group LLC’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $913,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in Salesforce by 1.2% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 84,635,254 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $25,490,446,000 after buying an additional 1,008,841 shares during the last quarter. Capital World Investors grew its position in shares of Salesforce by 2.4% in the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 19,561,325 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $5,147,402,000 after purchasing an additional 457,463 shares during the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Salesforce by 5.2% during the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 14,905,462 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $3,922,223,000 after purchasing an additional 736,986 shares during the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors boosted its stake in Salesforce by 26.9% during the 1st quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 14,376,536 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $4,329,925,000 after purchasing an additional 3,044,611 shares during the period. Finally, Capital International Investors grew its holdings in Salesforce by 3.0% in the 1st quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 14,116,449 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $4,251,592,000 after buying an additional 407,834 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.43% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Salesforce

In other Salesforce news, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 413 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $255.78, for a total transaction of $105,637.14. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 6,431 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,644,921.18. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 413 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $255.78, for a total value of $105,637.14. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 6,431 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,644,921.18. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Amy E. Weaver sold 897 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $255.78, for a total transaction of $229,434.66. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 51,109 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,072,660.02. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 62,376 shares of company stock worth $15,878,005 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

Salesforce Stock Performance

CRM stock opened at $255.32 on Wednesday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $253.61 and a 200 day moving average price of $267.11. Salesforce, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $193.68 and a fifty-two week high of $318.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a current ratio of 1.04 and a quick ratio of 1.04. The stock has a market capitalization of $247.41 billion, a PE ratio of 45.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.26 and a beta of 1.29.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, August 28th. The CRM provider reported $2.56 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.36 by $0.20. The company had revenue of $9.33 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.22 billion. Salesforce had a return on equity of 12.01% and a net margin of 15.44%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 8.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.63 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.55 EPS for the current year.

Salesforce Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 8th. Investors of record on Wednesday, September 18th will be paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.63%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, September 18th. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 28.78%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on CRM shares. Erste Group Bank reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Wednesday, September 11th. Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and issued a $345.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Friday, September 6th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $320.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Evercore ISI reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $300.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Monday, August 26th. Finally, Barclays lowered their price target on Salesforce from $355.00 to $305.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-six have issued a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $305.55.

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.