Federation des caisses Desjardins du Quebec Buys 25,985 Shares of Salesforce Inc. $CRM

Key Points

• The Federation des caisses Desjardins du Quebec increased its stake in Salesforce Inc. by 13.2%, purchasing an additional 25,985 shares, which brought its total holdings to 222,993 shares valued at approximately $59.8 million.
• Salesforce's stock has seen a minor increase, currently trading at $256.37, with a market capitalization of $245.09 billion and various analysts recommending an average target price of $341.47.
• Insider activity included CEO Marc Benioff selling 2,250 shares valued at over $578,000, reducing his stake slightly while insiders collectively sold shares worth $15.2 million within the last 90 days.

Federation des caisses Desjardins du Quebec increased its stake in shares of Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM - Free Report) by 13.2% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 222,993 shares of the CRM provider's stock after purchasing an additional 25,985 shares during the period. Federation des caisses Desjardins du Quebec's holdings in Salesforce were worth $59,845,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in Salesforce by 1.6% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 87,913,628 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $23,592,501,000 after acquiring an additional 1,383,942 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Salesforce by 5.1% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 9,014,148 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $2,419,037,000 after buying an additional 437,435 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its holdings in Salesforce by 7.5% during the 4th quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 8,658,132 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $2,894,673,000 after purchasing an additional 602,445 shares during the last quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in Salesforce by 1.3% in the 4th quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC now owns 8,598,989 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $2,874,900,000 after acquiring an additional 114,278 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nuveen LLC acquired a new position in Salesforce in the 1st quarter valued at $2,039,196,000. 80.43% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on Salesforce from $315.00 to $335.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 28th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Salesforce from $404.00 to $405.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday. Needham & Company LLC reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $400.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Wednesday, May 28th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on Salesforce from $340.00 to $385.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 29th. Finally, JMP Securities reissued a "market outperform" rating and set a $430.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Tuesday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-four have given a Buy rating, ten have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $341.50.

Salesforce Stock Up 1.6%

Shares of CRM traded up $4.01 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $256.87. The company had a trading volume of 16,452,602 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,008,836. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a current ratio of 1.07. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $256.61 and a 200 day moving average price of $268.18. Salesforce Inc. has a 52 week low of $226.48 and a 52 week high of $369.00. The company has a market capitalization of $245.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.33 and a beta of 1.22.

Salesforce Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 10th. Investors of record on Wednesday, June 18th were given a $0.416 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, June 18th. This represents a $1.66 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.6%. Salesforce's dividend payout ratio is 25.98%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Salesforce news, CEO Marc Benioff sold 2,250 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $251.66, for a total transaction of $566,235.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 11,911,571 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,997,665,957.86. The trade was a 0.02% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 63,827 shares of company stock worth $16,342,398. 3.00% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.