Aberdeen Group plc Buys 15,782 Shares of Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Key Points

• Aberdeen Group plc increased its stake in Salesforce by 1.5%, holding over 1 million shares worth approximately $274.8 million, making it the fund's 26th largest holding.
• Salesforce reported a quarterly earnings per share of $2.58, exceeding analysts' expectations, with a revenue increase of 7.6% to $9.83 billion compared to the same period last year.
• The company recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.416, reflecting a dividend yield of 0.7%, with a dividend payout ratio of 25.98%.

Aberdeen Group plc boosted its stake in shares of Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM - Free Report) by 1.5% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 1,036,482 shares of the CRM provider's stock after buying an additional 15,782 shares during the quarter. Salesforce makes up approximately 0.5% of Aberdeen Group plc's portfolio, making the stock its 26th largest holding. Aberdeen Group plc owned about 0.11% of Salesforce worth $274,802,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CRM. Nuveen LLC purchased a new stake in Salesforce during the first quarter valued at about $2,039,196,000. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main lifted its holdings 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 valued at $1,422,979,000 after purchasing an additional 3,841,521 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings 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 valued at $1,020,194,000 after purchasing an additional 3,789,147 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp lifted its holdings in Salesforce by 18.3% during 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 purchasing an additional 1,736,667 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in Salesforce by 1,744.0% during the first quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 1,820,262 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $488,486,000 after purchasing an additional 1,721,550 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.43% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Salesforce

In related news, CEO Marc Benioff sold 2,250 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, July 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $260.30, for a total value of $585,675.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 11,955,566 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,112,033,829.80. This trade represents a 0.02% 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. Insiders have sold 46,532 shares of company stock valued at $12,082,694 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 3.00% of the company's stock.

Salesforce Price Performance

CRM traded up $9.41 during trading on Friday, reaching $242.78. 12,936,592 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 6,984,759. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a current ratio of 1.07. The company has a market cap of $232.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.99, a PEG ratio of 2.12 and a beta of 1.37. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $260.41 and a 200 day simple moving average of $275.84. Salesforce Inc. has a 12-month low of $226.48 and a 12-month high of $369.00.

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

Salesforce Cuts Dividend

The firm 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, June 18th. This represents a $1.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.7%. Salesforce's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 25.98%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

CRM has been the topic of several recent research reports. Erste Group Bank downgraded shares of Salesforce from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, June 5th. BMO Capital Markets decreased their target price on shares of Salesforce from $350.00 to $335.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 10th. Stephens lowered their target price on shares of Salesforce from $311.00 to $309.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 30th. Barclays lowered their target price on shares of Salesforce from $425.00 to $347.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 29th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Salesforce from $255.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 29th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating, twenty-seven have assigned a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Salesforce presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $347.50.

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.