ASR Vermogensbeheer N.V. Acquires Shares of 124,364 Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Key Points

• ASR Vermogensbeheer N.V. has made a significant investment of approximately $33.37 million in Salesforce Inc. by acquiring 124,364 shares during the first quarter of the year.
• Salesforce's stock has received a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy", with analysts providing a target price averaging $348.16 amidst various upgrades and downgrades.
• Company insiders, including CEO Marc Benioff, have sold shares recently, with a total of 44,229 shares sold in the last ninety days, representing a 0.02% decrease in insider ownership.

ASR Vermogensbeheer N.V. bought a new stake in Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 124,364 shares of the CRM provider's stock, valued at approximately $33,373,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of CRM. Brighton Jones LLC increased its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 13.7% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 25,668 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $8,582,000 after buying an additional 3,102 shares during the last quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Salesforce by 12.6% in 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. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd purchased a new position in Salesforce in the fourth quarter worth approximately $512,000. Shelton Capital Management increased its stake in Salesforce by 20.5% during the fourth quarter. Shelton Capital Management now owns 44,574 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $14,902,000 after acquiring an additional 7,598 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of Nova Scotia increased its stake in Salesforce by 28.8% during the fourth quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 895,128 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $299,279,000 after acquiring an additional 199,938 shares during the last quarter. 80.43% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CRM has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Cantor Fitzgerald lowered shares of Salesforce from an "overweight" rating to a "cautious" rating in a report on Thursday, July 10th. Canaccord Genuity Group dropped their price target on shares of Salesforce from $400.00 to $350.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, May 28th. Northland Securities reduced their price target on shares of Salesforce from $423.00 to $396.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 29th. JMP Securities reaffirmed a "market outperform" rating and set a $430.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Friday, July 11th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their target price on shares of Salesforce from $243.00 to $255.00 and gave the company an "underperform" rating in a report on Thursday, May 29th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, twenty-seven have assigned a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $348.16.

Insider Buying and Selling at Salesforce

In other Salesforce news, CEO Marc Benioff sold 2,250 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $248.40, for a total transaction of $558,900.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 11,911,571 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,958,834,236.40. The trade was a 0.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 46,479 shares of company stock worth $12,457,591. 3.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Salesforce Stock Performance

CRM stock traded down $8.54 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $240.63. 9,997,676 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,834,085. The firm has a market capitalization of $230.04 billion, a PE ratio of 37.66, a P/E/G ratio of 2.26 and a beta of 1.37. The business has a 50-day moving average of $263.97 and a two-hundred day moving average of $280.10. Salesforce Inc. has a 52 week low of $230.00 and a 52 week high of $369.00. 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 (NYSE:CRM - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, May 28th. The CRM provider reported $2.58 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.55 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $9.83 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $9.74 billion. Salesforce had a net margin of 16.08% and a return on equity of 12.94%. The business's quarterly 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 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Salesforce Inc. will post 7.46 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 10th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, June 18th were issued a dividend of $0.416 per share. This represents a $1.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, June 18th. Salesforce's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.