AGF Management Ltd. Purchases 214,146 Shares of Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Key Points

• AGF Management Ltd. significantly increased its ownership in Salesforce Inc. by 3,824.7% during the first quarter, holding a total of <$58.97 million> in shares afterward.
• Salesforce's stock has received mixed ratings from analysts, with a consensus of a "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $348.16.
• CEO Marc Benioff recently sold 2,250 shares at an average price of $248.40, decreasing his stake marginally, while insiders have collectively sold over 46,000 shares in the last 90 days.

AGF Management Ltd. boosted its holdings in Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM - Free Report) by 3,824.7% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 219,745 shares of the CRM provider's stock after purchasing an additional 214,146 shares during the period. AGF Management Ltd.'s holdings in Salesforce were worth $58,971,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Nuveen LLC acquired a new stake in Salesforce during the first quarter valued at approximately $2,039,196,000. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main raised its stake 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 buying an additional 3,841,521 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake 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 buying an additional 3,789,147 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp raised its stake 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 buying an additional 1,736,667 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its stake 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 buying an additional 1,721,550 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.43% of the company's stock.

Salesforce Stock Performance

Shares of CRM stock traded up $1.52 on Wednesday, reaching $233.18. The stock had a trading volume of 1,747,451 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,130,459. The firm has a market capitalization of $222.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.58, a P/E/G ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 1.37. The company has a quick ratio of 1.07, a current ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. Salesforce Inc. has a 12 month low of $226.48 and a 12 month high of $369.00. The firm's 50-day moving average is $262.23 and its two-hundred day moving average is $277.72.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 28th. The CRM provider reported $2.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.55 by $0.03. Salesforce had a net margin of 16.08% and a return on equity of 12.94%. The business had revenue of $9.83 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.74 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $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 EPS for the current fiscal 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 paid a dividend of $0.416 per share. This represents a $1.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, June 18th. Salesforce's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 25.98%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on CRM shares. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on Salesforce from $340.00 to $385.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 29th. Citigroup decreased their price target on Salesforce from $320.00 to $295.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 30th. Stephens decreased their price target on Salesforce from $311.00 to $309.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 30th. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed a "sector perform" rating and set a $275.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Monday, July 14th. Finally, Piper Sandler increased their price target on Salesforce from $315.00 to $335.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 28th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, twenty-seven have issued a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $346.84.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Salesforce news, CEO Marc Benioff sold 2,250 shares of Salesforce 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 sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 11,955,566 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,112,033,829.80. The trade was a 0.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders have sold a total of 44,282 shares of company stock worth $11,554,754 over the last ninety days. 3.00% of the stock is owned by company 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.