Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) Stock Holdings Boosted by AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc

AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc lifted its holdings in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM - Free Report) by 1,610.2% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,009 shares of the CRM provider's stock after purchasing an additional 950 shares during the quarter. AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc's holdings in Salesforce were worth $271,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of CRM. Romano Brothers AND Company increased its holdings in Salesforce by 2.4% during the first quarter. Romano Brothers AND Company now owns 3,973 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $1,066,000 after buying an additional 95 shares during the last quarter. CGN Advisors LLC lifted its position in Salesforce by 8.9% during the first quarter. CGN Advisors LLC now owns 11,435 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $3,069,000 after purchasing an additional 933 shares in the last quarter. Unigestion Holding SA bought a new stake in Salesforce during the first quarter valued at about $975,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC increased its position in Salesforce by 415.7% in the first quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC now owns 954 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $256,000 after buying an additional 769 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Smith Anglin Financial LLC raised its stake in shares of Salesforce by 108.4% in the first quarter. Smith Anglin Financial LLC now owns 1,669 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $448,000 after buying an additional 868 shares during the period. 80.43% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CRM has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on shares of Salesforce from $340.00 to $385.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 29th. Redburn Atlantic assumed coverage on Salesforce in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. They issued a "buy" rating on the stock. Canaccord Genuity Group dropped their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $400.00 to $350.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, May 28th. UBS Group cut their target price on Salesforce from $320.00 to $300.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, May 27th. Finally, Erste Group Bank lowered Salesforce from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating, twenty-seven have given a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $346.34.

Salesforce Price Performance

CRM traded up $3.64 during trading on Thursday, reaching $266.81. 8,638,662 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,624,510. Salesforce, Inc. has a 1 year low of $227.77 and a 1 year high of $369.00. The company has a market capitalization of $255.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 43.88, a P/E/G ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 1.38. The business's 50 day moving average price is $266.51 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $303.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 1.11.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 28th. The CRM provider reported $2.58 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.55 by $0.03. Salesforce had a net margin of 15.96% and a return on equity of 12.34%. The firm had revenue of $9.83 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $9.74 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.44 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 7.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.46 earnings per share for the current year.

Salesforce Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 24th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 10th were given a $0.42 dividend. This is an increase from Salesforce's previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.63%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 10th. Salesforce's dividend payout ratio is currently 25.98%.

Insider Activity at Salesforce

In other Salesforce news, insider Miguel Milano sold 705 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $279.44, for a total transaction of $197,005.20. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 9,323 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,605,219.12. The trade was a 7.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider R David Schmaier sold 6,959 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the insider now owns 36,090 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,141,957.90. This trade represents a 16.17% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 40,332 shares of company stock valued at $11,024,802 over the last quarter. Insiders own 3.20% of the company's stock.

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.