Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) Shares Sold by CX Institutional

CX Institutional lessened its position in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 1.2% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 5,785 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after selling 73 shares during the period. CX Institutional’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $1,552,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in Salesforce by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 19,955,353 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $6,656,078,000 after buying an additional 175,035 shares in the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its position in Salesforce by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 12,453,872 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $4,163,703,000 after buying an additional 177,321 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp grew its position in Salesforce by 18.3% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 11,224,927 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $3,752,830,000 after buying an additional 1,736,667 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in Salesforce in the 4th quarter valued at about $3,599,867,000. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its position in Salesforce by 23.2% in the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 8,938,536 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $2,988,422,000 after buying an additional 1,683,233 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.43% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Miguel Milano sold 705 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $279.44, for a total value of $197,005.20. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 9,323 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,605,219.12. This trade represents a 7.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Srinivas Tallapragada sold 6,697 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $295.00, for a total transaction of $1,975,615.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 41,422 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,219,490. This represents a 13.92% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 40,332 shares of company stock valued at $11,024,802 over the last 90 days. 3.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on CRM shares. Westpark Capital reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $320.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Wednesday, May 28th. Bank of America reduced their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $440.00 to $400.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Cantor Fitzgerald began coverage on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Tuesday, June 3rd. They set an “overweight” rating and a $325.00 price objective for the company. Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $425.00 to $347.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 29th. Finally, Scotiabank reduced their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $400.00 to $345.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, March 17th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating, twenty-seven have issued a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $346.34.

Salesforce Price Performance

Shares of CRM opened at $265.93 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $254.23 billion, a PE ratio of 43.74, a PEG ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 1.38. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $267.35 and its 200 day moving average price is $301.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a current ratio of 1.11. Salesforce, Inc. has a twelve month low of $227.77 and a twelve month high of $369.00.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 firm had revenue of $9.83 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.74 billion. Salesforce had a net margin of 15.96% and a return on equity of 12.34%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.44 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.46 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 10th. Investors of record on Wednesday, June 18th will be given a dividend of $0.416 per share. This represents a $1.66 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.63%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, June 18th. Salesforce’s payout ratio is presently 25.98%.

Salesforce 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.