Banco Santander S.A. Buys 22,028 Shares of Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Key Points

• Banco Santander S.A. increased its stake in Salesforce Inc. by 15.8% during Q1, acquiring an additional 22,028 shares for a total value of $43.27 million.
• Salesforce reported a quarterly EPS of $2.58, exceeding analysts' expectations, with revenue of $9.83 billion, marking a 7.6% year-over-year increase.
• The company's stock has seen a recent decline, opening at $250.85 with a noted 2.9% drop as of the latest reporting.

Banco Santander S.A. raised its stake in Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM - Free Report) by 15.8% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 161,240 shares of the CRM provider's stock after buying an additional 22,028 shares during the quarter. Banco Santander S.A.'s holdings in Salesforce were worth $43,270,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Cumberland Partners Ltd lifted its stake in Salesforce by 13.5% in the first quarter. Cumberland Partners Ltd now owns 12,600 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $3,381,000 after buying an additional 1,500 shares in the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Salesforce by 4.4% in the first quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 263,501 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $70,713,000 after purchasing an additional 11,075 shares in the last quarter. Generali Powszechne Towarzystwo Emerytalne lifted its position in shares of Salesforce by 198.8% in the first quarter. Generali Powszechne Towarzystwo Emerytalne now owns 60,118 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $16,133,000 after purchasing an additional 40,000 shares in the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp lifted its position in shares of Salesforce by 5.9% in the first quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp now owns 570,125 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $152,999,000 after purchasing an additional 31,933 shares in the last quarter. Finally, TIAA Trust National Association lifted its position in shares of Salesforce by 21.4% in the first quarter. TIAA Trust National Association now owns 107,299 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $28,795,000 after purchasing an additional 18,891 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.43% of the company's stock.

Salesforce Stock Down 2.9%

Shares of NYSE CRM opened at $250.85 on Friday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $266.04 and a 200 day simple moving average of $282.19. The firm has a market cap of $239.81 billion, a PE ratio of 39.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 1.37. Salesforce Inc. has a 1 year low of $230.00 and a 1 year high of $369.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a current ratio of 1.07 and a quick ratio of 1.07.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 business had revenue of $9.83 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.74 billion. Salesforce had a net margin of 16.08% and a return on equity of 12.94%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 7.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $2.44 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Salesforce Inc. will post 7.46 EPS for the current year.

Salesforce Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 10th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, June 18th were issued a dividend of $0.416 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, June 18th. This represents a $1.66 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.7%. Salesforce's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 25.98%.

Insider Activity at Salesforce

In other Salesforce news, insider Srinivas Tallapragada sold 6,697 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $295.00, for a total transaction of $1,975,615.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 41,422 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,219,490. This trade represents a 13.92% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Marc Benioff sold 2,250 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $259.67, for a total transaction of $584,257.50. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 11,955,566 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,104,501,823.22. The trade was a 0.02% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 39,729 shares of company stock valued at $10,763,881. Company insiders own 3.20% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently commented on CRM. Canaccord Genuity Group cut their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $400.00 to $350.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, May 28th. Mizuho cut their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $425.00 to $380.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 15th. Cantor Fitzgerald lowered shares of Salesforce from an "overweight" rating to a "cautious" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. Northland Securities cut their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $423.00 to $396.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 29th. Finally, DA Davidson reissued an "underperform" rating and issued a $200.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Wednesday, May 28th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, twenty-seven have assigned a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $348.16.

About Salesforce

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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