CFM Wealth Partners LLC recently made a move to decrease its holdings in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 1.4% during the first quarter, according to their recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor is now in possession of 41,946 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after selling 613 shares during the quarter. With this adjustment, CFM Wealth Partners LLC has marked Salesforce down as its ninth biggest holding in its portfolio; with the investment being worth $8,380,000 as of its latest SEC filing.
In response to investor sentiment and market trends, Salesforce initiated a stock repurchase program back on Wednesday, March 1st which authorized the company to purchase up to $20 billion worth of outstanding shares. This new authorization permits the CRM provider to reacquire up to 10.9% of its own shares through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs can usually suggest that management believes that their stock may be undervalued at present times.
Recent insider transactions have also been reported regarding executives buying and selling trading shares from within their own holdings. Insider Parker Harris sold 1,250 shares of Salesforce stock at an average price of $219.27 on Tuesday, May 30th for a total transaction amounting to $274,087.50. Following this transaction, Parker now owns roughly around 100k shares or approximately $21 million worth of salesforce.com inc.’s listed securities. CFO Amy E Weaver has also engaged a sell off totaling in 24,281 units sold at an average price of $212.35 USD per share on Friday June 16th accounting for her own profits estimated at over $5m dollars net profit thus far alone from insider trading breaking news updates by various sources citing the company’s filings disclosed with the SEC.
Insiders reportedly account for ownership totaling only about just over 3.6% of the entire company shares, but have traded over 769k shares in Salesforce valued at a staggering $160m during the last quarter alone. Though execution of this unusual insider trades have been highly profitable for those involved thus far, it’s difficult to determine what impact it could possibly have on future trading patterns and eventual stock market performance in the long run. Experts continue to advise that all new stakes need to be carefully reviewed and scrutinized prior to being made taking current market data and other risk factors into consideration.
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Institutional Investors and Equity Analysts Bullish on Salesforce
Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) has recently been on the radar of many institutional investors and hedge funds. In the fourth quarter, Financial Management Professionals Inc. increased its holdings in Salesforce by a staggering 365.2%, now owning 214 shares worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 168 shares last quarter. Macroview Investment Management LLC also raised its stake in Salesforce by 488.4% during the same period, bringing their total holdings to 253 shares worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 210 shares. Similarly, Capital Directions Investment Advisors LLC and MinichMacGregor Wealth Management LLC acquired new positions this year for $28,000 and $31,000 respectively. Tradewinds Capital Management LLC raised its holdings by 44.4% and now owns 244 shares worth $32,000.
Equity analysts have also been bullish on Salesforce recently with Raymond James raising their price target from $240 to $260 on June 1st. Loop capital followed suit and boosted their price target on the same day from $190 to $215 while Royal Bank of Canada lifted theirs from $225 to $240. Morgan Stanley gave the stock an “overweight” rating while Macquarie also upgraded it to “outperform.”
At present, one analyst has given Salesforce a sell rating while thirteen hold ratings exist beside twenty-four buy ratings with two strong buy ratings which indicate a current consensus rating of “Moderate Buy”. With a market capitalization of over $204 billion and a P/E ratio at or near an astronomical level of around 552 times earnings per share (EPS), Salesforce is still considered one of the most attractive stocks in the tech space.
As trading opened on Thursday morning, CRM opened at $209.62 per share which is elevated compared to its one-year range between lows of $126.34 to highs of up to $225. The company’s debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16 at present is lower than the industry average, but its PEG (price to earnings growth) ratio of 2.09 puts it above its peers. Salesforce’s results for the first quarter saw $1.69 EPS – outperforming analysts’ estimates while recording a net margin of 1.18%. Their revenue was reported at $8.25 billion, eclipsing expectations of $8.17 billion with EPS forecasted to total 5.26 for the current fiscal year.
Overall, Salesforce has made impressive inroads into the cloud-based technology space that always promises to hold further promise, leading tier-1 institutions to invest increasingly within this sector and highlighting Salesforce as one of those few sought-after conglomerates which seems poised to only continue on its upward momentum towards ever greater success in the future.