Drive Wealth Management LLC Acquires 2,823 Shares of Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Key Points

• Drive Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in Salesforce Inc. by 111.3% during the first quarter, acquiring an additional 2,823 shares for a total of 5,360 shares valued at approximately $1,439,000.
• Salesforce recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.416 per share, representing an annualized dividend yield of 0.62% with a payout ratio of 25.98%.
• Analysts have varying ratings on Salesforce with a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $348.16, as multiple firms have recently adjusted their price targets.

Drive Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM - Free Report) by 111.3% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 5,360 shares of the CRM provider's stock after acquiring an additional 2,823 shares during the period. Drive Wealth Management LLC's holdings in Salesforce were worth $1,439,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Salesforce during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $3,599,867,000. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main boosted its holdings in Salesforce by 926.4% in the 4th quarter. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main now owns 4,256,211 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $1,422,979,000 after buying an additional 3,841,521 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in Salesforce by 30,456.9% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,801,588 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $1,020,194,000 after buying an additional 3,789,147 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. boosted its holdings in Salesforce by 42.5% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 7,791,015 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $2,604,770,000 after buying an additional 2,325,156 shares during the period. Finally, Northern Trust Corp boosted its holdings in Salesforce by 18.3% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 11,224,927 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $3,752,830,000 after buying an additional 1,736,667 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.43% of the company's stock.

Salesforce Stock Up 0.5%

Salesforce stock traded up $1.41 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $269.11. The stock had a trading volume of 4,013,320 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,704,325. The company has a quick ratio of 1.07, a current ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. The stock has a market capitalization of $257.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 42.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.43 and a beta of 1.36. Salesforce Inc. has a 12-month low of $230.00 and a 12-month high of $369.00. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $268.07 and its 200-day moving average price is $284.27.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, May 28th. The CRM provider reported $2.58 earnings per share (EPS) 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 analysts' expectations of $9.74 billion. Salesforce had a net margin of 16.08% and a return on equity of 12.94%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 7.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.44 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Salesforce Inc. will post 7.46 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Cuts Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 10th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, June 18th were issued a dividend of $0.416 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, June 18th. This represents a $1.66 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.62%. Salesforce's payout ratio is 25.98%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently commented on CRM. DA Davidson reaffirmed an "underperform" rating and issued a $200.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a report on Wednesday, May 28th. Canaccord Genuity Group lowered their target price on shares of Salesforce from $400.00 to $350.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, May 28th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an "overweight" rating and issued a $404.00 target price (up from $393.00) on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Thursday, May 29th. Erste Group Bank cut shares of Salesforce from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, June 5th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lowered their target price on shares of Salesforce from $350.00 to $335.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, twenty-seven have given a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Salesforce presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $348.16.

Insider Activity at Salesforce

In other news, insider Srinivas Tallapragada sold 6,697 shares of the business'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 directly 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Marc Benioff sold 2,250 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $271.69, for a total transaction of $611,302.50. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 11,862,457 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,222,910,942.33. The trade was a 0.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 33,479 shares of company stock valued at $9,091,796 over the last three months. 3.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.