Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM) Shares Acquired by Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund

Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund lifted its holdings in shares of Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 0.2% during the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 82,134 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after buying an additional 180 shares during the period. Salesforce makes up about 0.4% of Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund’s holdings, making the stock its 28th biggest position. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $22,041,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. purchased a new stake in shares of Salesforce during the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. Accredited Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Salesforce in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Wood Tarver Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in Salesforce in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $35,000. VSM Wealth Advisory LLC purchased a new position in Salesforce in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $45,000. Finally, Graney & King LLC purchased a new position in Salesforce in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $54,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.43% of the company’s stock.

Salesforce Trading Down 1.0%

Shares of Salesforce stock opened at $269.06 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.07, a current ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. The firm has a market cap of $257.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.46 and a beta of 1.36. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $272.06 and a 200-day simple moving average of $292.92. Salesforce Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $230.00 and a fifty-two week high of $369.00.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, May 28th. The CRM provider reported $2.58 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.55 by $0.03. Salesforce had a return on equity of 12.94% and a net margin of 16.08%. The business had revenue of $9.83 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.74 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.44 earnings per share. Salesforce’s revenue was up 7.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts forecast 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 paid a $0.416 dividend. This represents a $1.66 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.62%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, June 18th. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio is currently 25.98%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CRM has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Salesforce from $255.00 to $275.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, May 29th. Sanford C. Bernstein increased their price target on Salesforce from $243.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a report on Thursday, May 29th. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $325.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a report on Thursday, June 26th. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price target on Salesforce from $425.00 to $375.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, March 31st. Finally, Stephens decreased their price target on Salesforce from $311.00 to $309.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 30th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, twenty-eight have assigned a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Salesforce has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $349.08.

Insider Transactions at Salesforce

In other news, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 261 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $262.35, for a total transaction of $68,473.35. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 12,024 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,154,496.40. This represents a 2.12% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Miguel Milano sold 405 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $262.35, for a total value of $106,251.75. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 9,933 shares in the company, valued at $2,605,922.55. This trade represents a 3.92% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 28,534 shares of company stock worth $7,609,842. 3.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.