AustralianSuper Pty Ltd Lowers Position in Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

AustralianSuper Pty Ltd decreased its stake in Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM - Free Report) by 73.5% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 187,293 shares of the CRM provider's stock after selling 518,647 shares during the quarter. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd's holdings in Salesforce were worth $50,262,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the business. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. acquired a new position in shares of Salesforce in the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. Accredited Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Salesforce during the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Capital A Wealth Management LLC grew its position in Salesforce by 450.0% in the 1st quarter. Capital A Wealth Management LLC now owns 110 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 90 shares during the period. Abound Financial LLC acquired a new stake in Salesforce in the 1st quarter valued at $31,000. Finally, Wood Tarver Financial Group LLC bought a new position in Salesforce during the 4th quarter valued at $35,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.43% of the company's stock.

Salesforce Stock Up 1.0%

Salesforce stock traded up $2.52 on Friday, hitting $262.40. 6,376,432 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 6,563,887. The company has a current ratio of 1.07, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. The firm has a market cap of $250.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 41.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.38 and a beta of 1.36. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $270.45 and its 200 day simple moving average is $286.17. Salesforce Inc. has a 1 year low of $230.00 and a 1 year high of $369.00.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 28th. The CRM provider reported $2.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates 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 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 quarter last year, the firm posted $2.44 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Salesforce Inc. will post 7.46 earnings per share for the current year.

Salesforce Cuts Dividend

The company 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, June 18th. This represents a $1.66 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.63%. Salesforce's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 25.98%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently weighed in on CRM shares. Guggenheim upgraded Salesforce from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, April 21st. Northland Securities decreased their price objective on Salesforce from $423.00 to $396.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 29th. Canaccord Genuity Group cut their target price on Salesforce from $400.00 to $350.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, May 28th. UBS Group set a $404.00 price objective on Salesforce and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 18th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $400.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a report 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 given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $348.16.

Insider Transactions at Salesforce

In related news, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 261 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, June 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $262.35, for a total transaction of $68,473.35. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 12,024 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,154,496.40. This represents a 2.12% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Marc Benioff sold 2,250 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $257.02, for a total value of $578,295.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 11,911,571 shares in the company, valued at $3,061,511,978.42. This trade represents a 0.02% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 33,819 shares of company stock valued at $9,111,823 over the last 90 days. 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.