Banque Cantonale Vaudoise Invests $12.08 Million in Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Key Points

• Banque Cantonale Vaudoise acquired 45,013 shares of Salesforce Inc., valued at approximately $12.08 million, making Salesforce the 27th largest position in its portfolio.
• Salesforce reported a quarterly EPS of $2.58, beating estimates by $0.03, with a revenue of $9.83 billion, up 7.6% from the previous year.
• Various analysts maintain a positive outlook on Salesforce with an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $348.16.

Banque Cantonale Vaudoise acquired a new stake in Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 45,013 shares of the CRM provider's stock, valued at approximately $12,081,000. Salesforce comprises about 0.5% of Banque Cantonale Vaudoise's investment portfolio, making the stock its 27th largest holding.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in CRM. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. bought a new position in Salesforce in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Accredited Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Salesforce in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Capital A Wealth Management LLC increased 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 acquiring an additional 90 shares during the period. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC increased its position in Salesforce by 314.8% in the 1st quarter. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 112 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 85 shares during the period. Finally, Abound Financial LLC acquired a new position in Salesforce in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Institutional investors own 80.43% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Salesforce news, insider Srinivas Tallapragada sold 6,697 shares of Salesforce 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 transaction, the insider owned 41,422 shares of the company's stock, valued at $12,219,490. The trade was a 13.92% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Marc Benioff sold 2,250 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $259.67, for a total transaction of $584,257.50. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 11,955,566 shares in the company, valued at $3,104,501,823.22. This represents a 0.02% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 39,729 shares of company stock worth $10,763,881. 3.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Salesforce Stock Performance

Shares of CRM traded down $8.06 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $250.27. 5,684,363 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 7,086,228. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a current ratio of 1.07. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $266.48 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $282.69. Salesforce Inc. has a 1 year low of $230.00 and a 1 year high of $369.00. The stock has a market cap of $239.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.26, a P/E/G ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 1.36.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 28th. The CRM provider reported $2.58 earnings per share (EPS) 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 the consensus estimate of $9.74 billion. Salesforce had a net margin of 16.08% and a return on equity of 12.94%. The firm's revenue was up 7.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.44 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that Salesforce Inc. will post 7.46 earnings per share for the current year.

Salesforce Cuts Dividend

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have issued reports on CRM. Piper Sandler upped their price target on shares of Salesforce from $315.00 to $335.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 28th. Guggenheim upgraded shares of Salesforce from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, April 21st. Oppenheimer restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $370.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a report on Tuesday, June 10th. Canaccord Genuity Group reduced their price target on shares of Salesforce from $400.00 to $350.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, May 28th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein raised their price target on shares of Salesforce from $243.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock an "underperform" rating in a report on Thursday, May 29th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, twenty-seven have issued a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Salesforce currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $348.16.

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.