CSM Advisors LLC Purchases 10,118 Shares of Salesforce Inc. $CRM

Key Points

• CSM Advisors LLC increased its stake in Salesforce Inc. by 28.8% during the 1st quarter, now owning 45,275 shares worth approximately $12.15 million.
• CEO Marc Benioff sold 2,250 shares of Salesforce for about $578,295, decreasing his ownership by 0.02% while still holding over 11.9 million shares valued at around $3.06 billion.
• Wall Street analysts have varied outlooks on Salesforce with target price estimates ranging from $225 to $430, indicating a consensus average target price of $342.89.

CSM Advisors LLC raised its stake in Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM - Free Report) by 28.8% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 45,275 shares of the CRM provider's stock after purchasing an additional 10,118 shares during the quarter. CSM Advisors LLC's holdings in Salesforce were worth $12,150,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of CRM. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. purchased a new position in shares of Salesforce in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Accredited Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Salesforce in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Capital A Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of 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 last quarter. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC boosted its stake in shares of Salesforce by 314.8% in the first quarter. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 112 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 85 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Abound Financial LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Salesforce in the first quarter valued at approximately $31,000. 80.43% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Marc Benioff sold 2,250 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $257.02, for a total transaction of $578,295.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 11,911,571 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,061,511,978.42. The trade was a 0.02% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders sold a total of 57,077 shares of company stock valued at $14,642,478 in the last quarter. Insiders own 3.00% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently weighed in on CRM. Citigroup decreased their price target on Salesforce from $320.00 to $295.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 30th. DA Davidson upgraded Salesforce from an "underperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $225.00 target price for the company in a research note on Friday, August 15th. Barclays dropped their target price on Salesforce from $347.00 to $316.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, August 18th. UBS Group lowered their target price on Salesforce from $300.00 to $260.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, August 18th. Finally, Northland Securities lowered their target price on Salesforce from $423.00 to $396.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 29th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-six have issued a Buy rating, ten have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $340.54.

Salesforce Price Performance

Shares of CRM traded up $4.63 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $254.79. The stock had a trading volume of 8,439,184 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,237,746. Salesforce Inc. has a 52 week low of $226.48 and a 52 week 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. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $257.51 and its 200-day moving average price is $270.63. The company has a market capitalization of $243.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.87, a P/E/G ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 1.37.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 28th. The CRM provider reported $2.58 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.55 by $0.03. Salesforce had a return on equity of 12.94% and a net margin of 16.08%.The company had revenue of $9.83 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.74 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.44 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 7.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts forecast that Salesforce Inc. will post 7.46 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 10th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, June 18th were paid a $0.416 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, June 18th. This represents a $1.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.7%. Salesforce's payout ratio is 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.