Czech National Bank Increases Stock Holdings in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Czech National Bank raised its position in shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM - Free Report) by 6.0% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 219,808 shares of the CRM provider's stock after buying an additional 12,528 shares during the period. Salesforce comprises about 0.5% of Czech National Bank's holdings, making the stock its 27th largest holding. Czech National Bank's holdings in Salesforce were worth $58,988,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Athena Investment Management acquired a new position in Salesforce in the 4th quarter valued at about $236,000. Jag Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 2,507.9% in the fourth quarter. Jag Capital Management LLC now owns 23,706 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $7,926,000 after purchasing an additional 22,797 shares in the last quarter. Lecap Asset Management Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Salesforce in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $2,861,000. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp increased its stake in Salesforce by 2.7% during the 4th quarter. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp now owns 27,358 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $9,146,000 after buying an additional 723 shares during the period. Finally, Dash Acquisitions Inc. lifted its holdings in Salesforce by 2.6% during the 4th quarter. Dash Acquisitions Inc. now owns 60,521 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $21,785,000 after buying an additional 1,525 shares in the last quarter. 80.43% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have commented on the stock. Loop Capital dropped their price target on shares of Salesforce from $330.00 to $300.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on Salesforce from $340.00 to $385.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, May 29th. Macquarie reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and issued a $320.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. Mizuho lowered their price objective on Salesforce from $425.00 to $380.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 15th. Finally, Barclays reduced their target price on shares of Salesforce from $425.00 to $347.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 29th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, twenty-eight have issued a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Salesforce has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $346.34.

Insider Activity

In other Salesforce news, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 1,909 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $284.58, for a total value of $543,263.22. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 11,310 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,218,599.80. This represents a 14.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Srinivas Tallapragada sold 6,697 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $295.00, for a total transaction of $1,975,615.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 41,422 shares in the company, valued at $12,219,490. The trade was a 13.92% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 40,332 shares of company stock valued at $11,024,802. Company insiders own 3.20% of the company's stock.

Salesforce Stock Performance

Salesforce stock traded up $2.94 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $264.56. 7,741,314 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,684,796. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a current ratio of 1.11. The stock has a market cap of $254.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 43.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 1.42. Salesforce, Inc. has a 12-month low of $227.77 and a 12-month high of $369.00. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $266.92 and its 200 day simple moving average is $303.86.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, May 28th. The CRM provider reported $2.58 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.55 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $9.83 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.74 billion. Salesforce had a net margin of 15.96% and a return on equity of 12.34%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 7.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.44 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.46 EPS for the current year.

Salesforce Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 24th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 10th were issued a $0.42 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 10th. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.64%. This is a positive change from Salesforce's previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. Salesforce's 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.