Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM) Shares Sold by E Fund Management Co. Ltd.

Key Points

• E Fund Management Co. Ltd. has reduced its position in Salesforce Inc. by 21.3%, selling 8,103 shares, and now holds 29,981 shares valued at approximately $8,046,000.
• CEO Marc Benioff sold 2,250 shares of Salesforce stock for around $532,012.50, which represents a slight decrease in his overall ownership.
• Salesforce recently reported an EPS of $2.58 for the quarter, exceeding analysts' expectations, and showed a revenue of $9.83 billion with a yearly growth of 7.6%.

E Fund Management Co. Ltd. reduced its holdings in Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM - Free Report) by 21.3% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 29,981 shares of the CRM provider's stock after selling 8,103 shares during the quarter. E Fund Management Co. Ltd.'s holdings in Salesforce were worth $8,046,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Coign Capital Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Salesforce by 1.7% during the first quarter. Coign Capital Advisors LLC now owns 2,183 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $586,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares in the last quarter. Staley Capital Advisers Inc. boosted its position in shares of Salesforce by 1.1% during the first quarter. Staley Capital Advisers Inc. now owns 3,343 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $897,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares in the last quarter. Liberty One Investment Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Salesforce by 1.2% during the first quarter. Liberty One Investment Management LLC now owns 3,165 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $849,000 after purchasing an additional 39 shares in the last quarter. First Command Advisory Services Inc. boosted its holdings in Salesforce by 7.3% in the first quarter. First Command Advisory Services Inc. now owns 572 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $154,000 after acquiring an additional 39 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mendel Money Management grew its stake in shares of Salesforce by 3.6% in the first quarter. Mendel Money Management now owns 1,112 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $298,000 after acquiring an additional 39 shares during the last quarter. 80.43% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Salesforce Trading Down 1.2%

Shares of NYSE CRM traded down $2.79 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $234.24. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,330,221 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,145,862. The business's 50 day moving average is $261.72 and its two-hundred day moving average is $277.44. The firm has a market cap of $223.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 1.37. Salesforce Inc. has a 12-month low of $226.48 and a 12-month high of $369.00. The company has a current ratio of 1.07, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 28th. The CRM provider reported $2.58 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 return on equity of 12.94% and a net margin of 16.08%. Salesforce's quarterly revenue was up 7.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.44 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Salesforce Inc. will post 7.46 EPS for the current year.

Salesforce Cuts Dividend

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on CRM shares. Northland Securities cut their target price on Salesforce from $423.00 to $396.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 29th. DA Davidson reissued an "underperform" rating and issued a $200.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Wednesday, May 28th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on Salesforce from $340.00 to $385.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 29th. Morgan Stanley restated an "overweight" rating and issued a $404.00 price target (up previously from $393.00) on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Thursday, May 29th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald cut Salesforce from an "overweight" rating to a "cautious" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, twenty-seven have assigned a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $346.84.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Salesforce news, CEO Marc Benioff sold 2,250 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, July 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $260.30, for a total transaction of $585,675.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 11,955,566 shares in the company, valued at $3,112,033,829.80. This trade represents a 0.02% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In the last quarter, insiders sold 44,282 shares of company stock worth $11,554,754. Company insiders own 3.00% of the company's stock.

About Salesforce

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.