3Chopt Investment Partners LLC Buys Shares of 2,270 Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

3Chopt Investment Partners LLC bought a new stake in Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 2,270 shares of the CRM provider's stock, valued at approximately $609,000.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Salesforce during the fourth quarter worth about $3,599,867,000. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main lifted its position in Salesforce by 926.4% during 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 worth $1,422,979,000 after buying an additional 3,841,521 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in Salesforce by 30,456.9% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,801,588 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $1,020,194,000 after buying an additional 3,789,147 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in Salesforce during the fourth quarter worth about $1,173,564,000. Finally, Invesco Ltd. lifted its position in Salesforce by 42.5% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 7,791,015 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $2,604,770,000 after buying an additional 2,325,156 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.43% of the company's stock.

Salesforce Stock Up 0.7%

NYSE CRM traded up $1.98 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $272.72. 21,736,713 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 6,529,239. The company has a market cap of $260.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.68, a P/E/G ratio of 2.48 and a beta of 1.38. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $270.38 and a 200-day simple moving average of $294.25. The company has a current ratio of 1.07, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. Salesforce Inc. has a 1-year low of $230.00 and a 1-year high of $369.00.

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

Salesforce Cuts Dividend

The company 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 $0.416 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, June 18th. This represents a $1.66 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.61%. Salesforce's payout ratio is 25.98%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on CRM shares. Royal Bank Of Canada downgraded Salesforce from an "outperform" rating to a "sector perform" rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $420.00 to $275.00 in a research report on Thursday, May 29th. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an "overweight" rating and issued a $325.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a report on Thursday. Erste Group Bank downgraded Salesforce from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, June 5th. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price objective on Salesforce from $425.00 to $375.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, March 31st. Finally, Mizuho cut their price objective on Salesforce from $425.00 to $380.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 15th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, twenty-eight have given a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Salesforce currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $349.08.

Insider Transactions at Salesforce

In related news, Director Oscar Munoz purchased 3,882 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 3rd. The shares were acquired at an average price of $257.28 per share, with a total value of $998,760.96. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 11,843 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,046,967.04. This trade represents a 48.76% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider R David Schmaier sold 6,959 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $253.31, for a total value of $1,762,784.29. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 36,090 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,141,957.90. This trade represents a 16.17% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 26,284 shares of company stock worth $6,996,762. 3.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

About Salesforce

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.