ARK Investment Management LLC Purchases Shares of 75,193 Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Key Points

• ARK Investment Management LLC purchased 75,193 shares of Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM) valued at approximately $20.18 million in the first quarter of the year.
• Salesforce's stock performance shows a market capitalization of $257.27 billion, with a fifty-two week low of $230.00 and a high of $369.00.
• The company's recent quarterly earnings report exceeded estimates, with $2.58 earnings per share and revenue of $9.83 billion, reflecting a 7.6% year-over-year growth.

ARK Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 75,193 shares of the CRM provider's stock, valued at approximately $20,179,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Salesforce by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 19,955,353 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $6,656,078,000 after buying an additional 175,035 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp raised its stake in Salesforce by 18.3% in 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 during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its stake in Salesforce by 23.2% in 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 buying an additional 1,683,233 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its stake in shares of Salesforce by 7.5% in the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 8,658,132 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $2,894,673,000 after purchasing an additional 602,445 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nuveen Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Salesforce by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC now owns 8,598,989 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $2,874,900,000 after purchasing an additional 114,278 shares during the last quarter. 80.43% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Salesforce Stock Performance

NYSE CRM opened at $269.11 on Friday. The stock's fifty day moving average is $268.07 and its two-hundred day moving average is $284.27. The firm has a market capitalization of $257.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 42.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.43 and a beta of 1.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a current ratio of 1.07. Salesforce Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $230.00 and a fifty-two 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 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.55 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $9.83 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.74 billion. Salesforce had a return on equity of 12.94% and a net margin of 16.08%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 7.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.44 earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that Salesforce Inc. will post 7.46 earnings per share for the current year.

Salesforce Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 10th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, June 18th were paid a $0.416 dividend. This represents a $1.66 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.62%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, June 18th. Salesforce's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 25.98%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on CRM shares. JMP Securities restated a "market outperform" rating and issued a $430.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Friday, July 11th. Guggenheim upgraded Salesforce from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, April 21st. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price objective on Salesforce from $425.00 to $375.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, March 31st. Stephens reduced their price objective 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. Finally, Westpark Capital restated a "buy" rating and issued a $320.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Wednesday, May 28th. Three research 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 issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company 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 company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $271.69, for a total value of $611,302.50. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 11,862,457 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,222,910,942.33. This represents a 0.02% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Srinivas Tallapragada sold 6,697 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $295.00, for a total value of $1,975,615.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 41,422 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,219,490. This trade represents a 13.92% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 33,479 shares of company stock worth $9,091,796. Corporate 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.

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