MQS Management LLC Purchases New Holdings in Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

MQS Management LLC purchased a new position in Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 1,105 shares of the CRM provider's stock, valued at approximately $297,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in CRM. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Salesforce during the 4th quarter worth approximately $3,599,867,000. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main grew its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 926.4% in the fourth quarter. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main now owns 4,256,211 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $1,422,979,000 after acquiring an additional 3,841,521 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 30,456.9% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,801,588 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $1,020,194,000 after acquiring an additional 3,789,147 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 42.5% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 7,791,015 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $2,604,770,000 after acquiring an additional 2,325,156 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp grew its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 18.3% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 11,224,927 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $3,752,830,000 after acquiring an additional 1,736,667 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.43% of the company's stock.

Salesforce Stock Up 0.6%

NYSE CRM traded up $1.51 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $261.39. The stock had a trading volume of 4,201,061 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,546,547. Salesforce Inc. has a 1 year low of $230.00 and a 1 year high of $369.00. The stock has a market cap of $249.88 billion, a PE ratio of 40.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 1.36. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $270.71 and a 200 day moving average price of $286.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a current ratio of 1.07 and a quick ratio of 1.07.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 28th. The CRM provider reported $2.58 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.55 by $0.03. Salesforce had a net margin of 16.08% and a return on equity of 12.94%. The company had revenue of $9.83 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.74 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.44 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 7.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that Salesforce Inc. will post 7.46 earnings per share for the current year.

Salesforce Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 10th. Investors of record on Wednesday, June 18th were issued a $0.416 dividend. This represents a $1.66 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.64%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, June 18th. Salesforce's dividend payout ratio is currently 25.98%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have weighed in on CRM. Needham & Company LLC reissued a "buy" rating and set a $400.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a report on Wednesday, May 28th. Westpark Capital reissued a "buy" rating and set a $320.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a report on Wednesday, May 28th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Salesforce from $255.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 29th. Guggenheim upgraded Salesforce from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, April 21st. Finally, DA Davidson restated an "underperform" rating and set a $200.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Wednesday, May 28th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, twenty-seven have issued a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $348.16.

Insider Activity

In other Salesforce news, CEO Marc Benioff sold 2,250 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $272.48, for a total value of $613,080.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 11,862,457 shares in the company, valued at $3,232,282,283.36. The trade was a 0.02% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider R David Schmaier sold 4,586 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $253.66, for a total transaction of $1,163,284.76. Following the sale, the insider owned 33,273 shares in the company, valued at $8,440,029.18. This represents a 12.11% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 33,819 shares of company stock worth $9,111,823. 3.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.