Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM) Shares Bought by Allianz SE

Key Points

• Allianz SE increased its stake in Salesforce Inc. by 2.6%, bringing its total holdings to 57,958 shares valued at approximately $15.6 million.
• Salesforce recently reported a quarterly EPS of $2.58, exceeding analysts' expectations, with revenue of $9.83 billion, up 7.6% year-over-year.
• The company cut its quarterly dividend to $0.416, representing an annualized yield of 0.7%, with a payout ratio of 25.98%.

Allianz SE grew its position in Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM - Free Report) by 2.6% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 57,958 shares of the CRM provider's stock after buying an additional 1,448 shares during the period. Allianz SE's holdings in Salesforce were worth $15,554,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Brighton Jones LLC raised its position in Salesforce by 13.7% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 25,668 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $8,582,000 after purchasing an additional 3,102 shares during the period. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC lifted its position in Salesforce by 12.6% during the fourth quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 1,827 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $611,000 after acquiring an additional 205 shares during the last quarter. PAX Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Salesforce during the fourth quarter valued at about $501,000. Landscape Capital Management L.L.C. acquired a new stake in Salesforce in the 4th quarter worth approximately $2,012,000. Finally, Smith Moore & CO. grew its position in Salesforce by 10.8% during the 4th quarter. Smith Moore & CO. now owns 1,627 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $544,000 after purchasing an additional 159 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.43% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CRM has been the subject of a number of research reports. Erste Group Bank downgraded Salesforce from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, June 5th. Oppenheimer reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $370.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a report on Tuesday, June 10th. Canaccord Genuity Group reduced their target price on shares of Salesforce from $400.00 to $350.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, May 28th. DA Davidson reiterated an "underperform" rating and set a $200.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Wednesday, May 28th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $400.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a 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 given a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $348.16.

Insider Buying and Selling at Salesforce

In other news, CEO Marc Benioff sold 2,250 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $252.42, for a total value of $567,945.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 11,911,571 shares in the company, valued at $3,006,718,751.82. This trade represents a 0.02% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders sold 44,229 shares of company stock valued at $11,898,691 in the last quarter. 3.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Salesforce Stock Up 0.6%

NYSE:CRM traded up $1.38 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $248.87. The company had a trading volume of 5,825,518 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,073,268. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $265.03 and its 200-day simple moving average is $280.90. The firm has a market capitalization of $237.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.95, a PEG ratio of 2.29 and a beta of 1.37. Salesforce Inc. has a 12-month low of $230.00 and a 12-month high of $369.00. 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 (NYSE:CRM - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 28th. The CRM provider reported $2.58 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.55 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $9.83 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.74 billion. Salesforce had a return on equity of 12.94% and a net margin of 16.08%. The company's revenue was up 7.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.44 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Salesforce Inc. will post 7.46 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 10th. Investors of record on Wednesday, June 18th were paid a $0.416 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, June 18th. This represents a $1.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.7%. Salesforce's payout ratio is 25.98%.

Salesforce Company 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.