AlphaCore Capital LLC Purchases 2,314 Shares of Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Key Points

• AlphaCore Capital LLC increased its stake in Salesforce Inc. by 58.8% during the first quarter, owning 6,252 shares worth approximately $1.68 million.
• Salesforce reported an earnings per share (EPS) of $2.58, exceeding analysts' estimates, with quarterly revenue of $9.83 billion—a year-over-year increase of 7.6%.
• Analysts have given Salesforce a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy", with an average price target of $348.16.

AlphaCore Capital LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM - Free Report) by 58.8% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 6,252 shares of the CRM provider's stock after acquiring an additional 2,314 shares during the quarter. AlphaCore Capital LLC's holdings in Salesforce were worth $1,678,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of CRM. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main increased its position in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 3,841,521 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 3,789,147 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp grew 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 period. Pacer Advisors Inc. grew 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 period. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its holdings in Salesforce by 23.2% during the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 8,938,536 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $2,988,422,000 after purchasing an additional 1,683,233 shares during the period. 80.43% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Salesforce Trading Down 0.3%

Shares of CRM traded down $0.79 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $240.09. The company had a trading volume of 8,807,591 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,971,969. The firm has a market cap of $229.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.57, a P/E/G ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 1.37. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $263.47 and its 200 day moving average price is $279.50. 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 52-week low of $230.00 and a 52-week high of $369.00.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 firm had revenue of $9.83 billion for 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 quarterly revenue was up 7.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.44 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict 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 paid a $0.416 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, June 18th. This represents a $1.66 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.7%. Salesforce's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 25.98%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have weighed in on CRM. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price objective on Salesforce from $350.00 to $335.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 10th. Northland Securities cut their price target on Salesforce from $423.00 to $396.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 29th. Piper Sandler raised their price target on Salesforce from $315.00 to $335.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 28th. Citigroup cut their price target on Salesforce from $320.00 to $295.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 30th. Finally, Erste Group Bank lowered Salesforce from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, June 5th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, twenty-seven have given a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $348.16.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Marc Benioff sold 2,250 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $248.40, for a total value of $558,900.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 11,911,571 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,958,834,236.40. This trade represents a 0.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Insiders sold 46,479 shares of company stock valued at $12,457,591 over the last quarter. 3.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.