Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG Boosts Stock Position in Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG lifted its stake in shares of Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM - Free Report) by 12.9% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 222,107 shares of the CRM provider's stock after purchasing an additional 25,382 shares during the quarter. Salesforce comprises about 1.4% of Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG's investment portfolio, making the stock its 19th largest holding. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG's holdings in Salesforce were worth $59,605,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of CRM. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC boosted its stake in Salesforce by 4.1% during the 4th quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 787 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $263,000 after acquiring an additional 31 shares during the last quarter. Prossimo Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Prossimo Advisors LLC now owns 3,366 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $1,125,000 after purchasing an additional 32 shares in the last quarter. Mainstream Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Salesforce by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Mainstream Capital Management LLC now owns 6,409 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $2,143,000 after acquiring an additional 33 shares in the last quarter. Citizens National Bank Trust Department grew its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. Citizens National Bank Trust Department now owns 1,924 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $643,000 after acquiring an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Delap Wealth Advisory LLC increased its holdings in Salesforce by 2.7% during the fourth quarter. Delap Wealth Advisory LLC now owns 1,336 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $447,000 after buying an additional 35 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.43% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Salesforce

In related news, CEO Brian Millham sold 3,937 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $284.58, for a total transaction of $1,120,391.46. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 5,518 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,570,312.44. This trade represents a 41.64% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider R David Schmaier sold 6,959 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $253.31, for a total transaction of $1,762,784.29. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 36,090 shares of the company's stock, valued at $9,141,957.90. The trade was a 16.17% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 34,111 shares of company stock valued at $9,299,283 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 3.20% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have commented on CRM shares. Citigroup decreased their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $320.00 to $295.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 30th. Westpark Capital reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $320.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Wednesday, May 28th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their target price on Salesforce from $425.00 to $375.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Redburn Atlantic started coverage on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. They issued a "buy" rating on the stock. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lowered their price objective on Salesforce from $367.00 to $350.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, May 27th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, twenty-eight have assigned a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $349.08.

Salesforce Stock Down 1.4%

CRM traded down $3.78 during trading on Thursday, hitting $258.98. 7,623,720 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,535,521. Salesforce Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $230.00 and a fifty-two week high of $369.00. The stock has a market cap of $247.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.53, a PEG ratio of 2.38 and a beta of 1.38. The business's 50 day moving average is $268.31 and its two-hundred day moving average is $298.72. 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 posted its earnings results on Wednesday, May 28th. The CRM provider reported $2.58 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.55 by $0.03. Salesforce had a net margin of 16.08% and a return on equity of 12.94%. The company had revenue of $9.83 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.74 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.44 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 7.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts expect that Salesforce Inc. will post 7.46 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Cuts Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 10th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, June 18th will be issued a $0.416 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, June 18th. This represents a $1.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.64%. Salesforce's dividend payout ratio is presently 25.98%.

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.