Salesforce Inc. $CRM Shares Sold by GKV Capital Management Co. Inc.

Key Points

• GKV Capital Management Co. Inc. reduced its stake in Salesforce Inc. by 87.1%, retaining only 1,150 shares after selling 7,760 shares in the first quarter, with holdings valued at approximately $309,000.
• Salesforce's stock is currently rated as a "Moderate Buy" with a consensus target price of $340.43, despite multiple analysts lowering price targets recently.
• CEO Marc Benioff sold 2,250 shares at an average price of $248.56, reducing his total ownership slightly; insiders have sold a total of 59,327 shares valued at over $15 million in the past ninety days.

GKV Capital Management Co. Inc. trimmed its holdings in Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM - Free Report) by 87.1% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,150 shares of the CRM provider's stock after selling 7,760 shares during the period. GKV Capital Management Co. Inc.'s holdings in Salesforce were worth $309,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. AIA Group Ltd boosted its stake in shares of Salesforce by 8.0% during the 1st quarter. AIA Group Ltd now owns 32,885 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $8,825,000 after buying an additional 2,436 shares during the last quarter. Notis McConarty Edward raised its position in shares of Salesforce by 71.6% during the 1st quarter. Notis McConarty Edward now owns 3,844 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $1,032,000 after acquiring an additional 1,604 shares in the last quarter. Aberdeen Group plc raised its position in shares of Salesforce by 1.5% during the 1st quarter. Aberdeen Group plc now owns 1,036,482 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $274,802,000 after acquiring an additional 15,782 shares in the last quarter. Leith Wheeler Investment Counsel Ltd. raised its position in shares of Salesforce by 43.0% during the 1st quarter. Leith Wheeler Investment Counsel Ltd. now owns 104,834 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $28,133,000 after acquiring an additional 31,537 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Alecta Tjanstepension Omsesidigt raised its position in shares of Salesforce by 121.9% during the 1st quarter. Alecta Tjanstepension Omsesidigt now owns 355,000 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $95,222,000 after acquiring an additional 195,000 shares in the last quarter. 80.43% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Salesforce Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:CRM traded up $1.84 on Friday, hitting $256.37. The company's stock had a trading volume of 7,354,032 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,243,193. Salesforce Inc. has a 12 month low of $226.48 and a 12 month high of $369.00. The company has a market capitalization of $245.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.33 and a beta of 1.37. The stock's 50-day moving average is $257.34 and its two-hundred day moving average is $269.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a current ratio of 1.07.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly 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. Salesforce had a return on equity of 12.94% and a net margin of 16.08%.The company had revenue of $9.83 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $9.74 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.44 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 7.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Salesforce Inc. will post 7.46 EPS for the current year.

Salesforce Cuts Dividend

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on CRM shares. Needham & Company LLC reissued a "buy" rating and set a $400.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Wednesday, May 28th. UBS Group dropped their price target on Salesforce from $300.00 to $260.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, August 18th. Bank of America dropped their price target on Salesforce from $350.00 to $325.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, August 26th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on Salesforce from $340.00 to $385.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 29th. Finally, Piper Sandler upped their price target on Salesforce from $315.00 to $335.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 28th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-four have assigned a Buy rating, ten have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $341.47.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Marc Benioff sold 2,250 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $257.02, for a total value of $578,295.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 11,911,571 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,061,511,978.42. This represents a 0.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders sold a total of 59,327 shares of company stock valued at $15,201,738 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 3.00% of the company's stock.

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.