Freemont Management S.A. Acquires New Shares in Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Key Points

• Freemont Management S.A. has acquired 11,000 shares of Salesforce Inc. valued at approximately $2.95 million during the 1st quarter, contributing to the company's 80.43% institutional ownership.
• Salesforce's stock recently saw an upgrade from Guggenheim from "sell" to "neutral," while Piper Sandler increased its target price to $335.00 with an "overweight" rating.
• The company reported a net margin of 16.08% with Q1 earnings of $2.58 per share, surpassing the consensus estimate and marking a year-over-year revenue growth of 7.6%.

Freemont Management S.A. bought a new position in shares of Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 11,000 shares of the CRM provider's stock, valued at approximately $2,952,000.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Seven Mile Advisory grew its stake in Salesforce by 2.3% during the 4th quarter. Seven Mile Advisory now owns 1,762 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $589,000 after buying an additional 39 shares during the last quarter. Liberty One Investment Management LLC grew its stake in Salesforce by 1.2% during the 1st quarter. Liberty One Investment Management LLC now owns 3,165 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $849,000 after buying an additional 39 shares during the last quarter. First Command Advisory Services Inc. grew its stake in Salesforce by 7.3% during the 1st quarter. First Command Advisory Services Inc. now owns 572 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $154,000 after buying an additional 39 shares during the last quarter. Mendel Money Management grew its stake in Salesforce by 3.6% during the 1st quarter. Mendel Money Management now owns 1,112 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $298,000 after buying an additional 39 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Clarity Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in Salesforce by 2.3% during the 1st quarter. Clarity Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,760 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $472,000 after buying an additional 40 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.43% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Guggenheim upgraded Salesforce from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, April 21st. Piper Sandler lifted their target price on Salesforce from $315.00 to $335.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 28th. Mizuho lowered their target price on Salesforce from $425.00 to $380.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 15th. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $400.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Wednesday, May 28th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lowered their target price on Salesforce from $425.00 to $375.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 31st. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, twenty-seven have assigned a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $348.16.

Salesforce Stock Performance

CRM traded up $1.41 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $269.11. The company's stock had a trading volume of 4,013,320 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,704,325. Salesforce Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $230.00 and a fifty-two week 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. The firm has a market capitalization of $257.27 billion, a PE ratio of 42.11, a PEG ratio of 2.43 and a beta of 1.36. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $268.07 and a 200 day simple moving average of $284.27.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 28th. The CRM provider reported $2.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.55 by $0.03. Salesforce had a return on equity of 12.94% and a net margin of 16.08%. The company had revenue of $9.83 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $9.74 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.44 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 7.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Salesforce Inc. will post 7.46 EPS for the current year.

Salesforce Cuts Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Salesforce

In other news, CEO Marc Benioff sold 2,250 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $266.56, for a total transaction of $599,760.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 11,911,571 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,175,148,365.76. This trade represents a 0.02% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Over the last three months, insiders sold 33,479 shares of company stock worth $9,091,796. Company insiders own 3.20% of the company's stock.

Salesforce Company 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.