Entropy Technologies LP Raises Holdings in Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Key Points

• Entropy Technologies LP increased its stake in Salesforce by 334.9% in Q1, owning 46,604 shares valued at $12.5 million, making it the fund's second largest investment.
• Salesforce has garnered a majority of positive analyst ratings, with 27 buy ratings and a consensus price target of $348.16, despite mixed adjustments from various firms.
• Insider trading activity showed CEO Marc Benioff selling 2,250 shares recently, while insiders have sold a total of 46,479 shares in the last ninety days.

Entropy Technologies LP boosted its position in Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM - Free Report) by 334.9% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 46,604 shares of the CRM provider's stock after acquiring an additional 35,887 shares during the period. Salesforce accounts for about 1.2% of Entropy Technologies LP's holdings, making the stock its 2nd biggest position. Entropy Technologies LP's holdings in Salesforce were worth $12,507,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in CRM. Brighton Jones LLC raised its stake in shares of Salesforce by 13.7% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 25,668 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $8,582,000 after purchasing an additional 3,102 shares during the last quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Salesforce by 12.6% during the fourth quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 1,827 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $611,000 after acquiring an additional 205 shares during the last quarter. Jaffetilchin Investment Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Salesforce by 6.3% during the fourth quarter. Jaffetilchin Investment Partners LLC now owns 4,389 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $1,467,000 after acquiring an additional 261 shares during the last quarter. NFP Retirement Inc. increased its position in shares of Salesforce by 6.5% during the fourth quarter. NFP Retirement Inc. now owns 1,111 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $371,000 after acquiring an additional 68 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Crux Wealth Advisors purchased a new stake in shares of Salesforce during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,378,000. Institutional investors own 80.43% of the company's stock.

Salesforce Price Performance

NYSE CRM traded down $1.28 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $231.40. 13,176,549 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 7,166,282. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $262.89 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $278.04. Salesforce Inc. has a 1 year low of $226.48 and a 1 year 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 company has a market cap of $221.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.18 and a beta of 1.37.

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 firm 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%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 7.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.44 earnings per share. On average, analysts predict 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 $0.416 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, June 18th. This represents a $1.66 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.7%. Salesforce's payout ratio is currently 25.98%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Marc Benioff sold 2,250 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $259.67, for a total transaction of $584,257.50. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 11,955,566 shares in the company, valued at $3,104,501,823.22. The trade was a 0.02% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Srinivas Tallapragada sold 6,697 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $295.00, for a total value of $1,975,615.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 41,422 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,219,490. This represents a 13.92% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 50,979 shares of company stock worth $13,530,369. Company insiders own 3.00% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently commented on CRM. Westpark Capital reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $320.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Wednesday, May 28th. Northland Securities reduced their price objective on Salesforce from $423.00 to $396.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 29th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on Salesforce from $340.00 to $385.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, May 29th. Canaccord Genuity Group reduced their price objective on Salesforce from $400.00 to $350.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, May 28th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reissued an "overweight" rating and set a $404.00 price objective (up from $393.00) on shares of Salesforce in a report on Thursday, May 29th. 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 assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $348.16.

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.