Goldman Sachs Group Inc. Raises Holdings in Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Key Points

• Goldman Sachs increased its stake in Salesforce Inc. by 5.1%, owning 9,014,148 shares valued at approximately $2.42 billion as of the latest SEC filing.
• Salesforce reported a 7.6% year-over-year revenue growth with quarterly earnings of $2.58 per share, surpassing consensus estimates.
• The company's annual dividend yield is currently 0.7%, with a payout ratio of 25.98% following a recent dividend payment.

Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM - Free Report) by 5.1% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 9,014,148 shares of the CRM provider's stock after acquiring an additional 437,435 shares during the quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. owned 0.94% of Salesforce worth $2,419,037,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. purchased a new stake in shares of Salesforce in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Accredited Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Salesforce in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Capital A Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of Salesforce by 450.0% in the first quarter. Capital A Wealth Management LLC now owns 110 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 90 shares in the last quarter. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC increased its position in shares of Salesforce by 314.8% in the first quarter. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 112 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 85 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Abound Financial LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Salesforce in the first quarter valued at approximately $31,000. 80.43% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Salesforce Trading Down 3.4%

Shares of CRM stock traded down $8.54 on Thursday, hitting $240.63. The stock had a trading volume of 9,997,676 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,834,085. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $230.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.66, a P/E/G ratio of 2.26 and a beta of 1.37. Salesforce Inc. has a 1 year low of $230.00 and a 1 year high of $369.00. The company's 50 day moving average price is $263.97 and its 200-day moving average price is $280.10.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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. 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% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.44 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Salesforce Inc. will post 7.46 earnings per share for the current year.

Salesforce Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared 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. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, June 18th. This represents a $1.66 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.7%. 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 company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $248.40, for a total transaction of $558,900.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 11,911,571 shares in the company, valued at $2,958,834,236.40. This represents a 0.02% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In the last quarter, insiders sold 46,479 shares of company stock worth $12,457,591. 3.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently commented on CRM shares. Oppenheimer restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $370.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Tuesday, June 10th. Citigroup lowered their price target on Salesforce from $320.00 to $295.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on Salesforce from $340.00 to $385.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 29th. Northland Securities lowered their price target on Salesforce from $423.00 to $396.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 29th. Finally, Erste Group Bank lowered Salesforce from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, June 5th. Three investment 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 given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $348.16.

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.