Gateway Investment Advisers LLC Acquires 14,649 Shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Gateway Investment Advisers LLC grew its holdings in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 8.1% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 194,489 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 14,649 shares during the quarter. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $52,193,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of CRM. Tallon Kerry Patrick bought a new position in shares of Salesforce in the 4th quarter worth $236,000. Brighton Jones LLC grew its stake in Salesforce by 13.7% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 25,668 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $8,582,000 after purchasing an additional 3,102 shares during the last quarter. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA bought a new position in Salesforce in the fourth quarter worth about $104,173,000. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Salesforce by 12.6% during the fourth quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 1,827 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $611,000 after buying an additional 205 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Money Concepts Capital Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 17.0% in the 4th quarter. Money Concepts Capital Corp now owns 875 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $293,000 after buying an additional 127 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.43% of the company’s stock.

Salesforce Trading Up 2.7%

Salesforce stock opened at $274.48 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. Salesforce, Inc. has a 12 month low of $227.77 and a 12 month high of $369.00. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $266.57 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $302.58. The firm has a market cap of $262.40 billion, a PE ratio of 45.14, a P/E/G ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 1.38.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, May 28th. The CRM provider reported $2.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.55 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $9.83 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.74 billion. Salesforce had a net margin of 15.96% and a return on equity of 12.34%. The business’s revenue was up 7.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.44 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.46 earnings per share for the current year.

Salesforce Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 10th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, June 18th will be given a dividend of $0.416 per share. This represents a $1.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.61%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, June 18th. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 25.98%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CRM has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $425.00 to $375.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, March 31st. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price target on Salesforce from $367.00 to $350.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, May 27th. Barclays decreased their price objective on Salesforce from $425.00 to $347.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 29th. Guggenheim upgraded Salesforce from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, April 21st. Finally, UBS Group decreased their price target on Salesforce from $320.00 to $300.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, May 27th. 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 issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $346.34.

Insider Activity at Salesforce

In other Salesforce news, CFO Amy E. Weaver sold 6,221 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $277.37, for a total value of $1,725,518.77. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 46,750 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,967,047.50. This trade represents a 11.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $275.00, for a total value of $137,500.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 11,711 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,220,525. The trade was a 4.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 40,332 shares of company stock worth $11,024,802 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

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.