Graphene Investments SAS Buys 1,300 Shares of Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Graphene Investments SAS boosted its position in Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM - Free Report) by 14.8% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 10,100 shares of the CRM provider's stock after purchasing an additional 1,300 shares during the period. Graphene Investments SAS's holdings in Salesforce were worth $2,710,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Salesforce in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $3,599,867,000. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main boosted its holdings in Salesforce by 926.4% in the 4th quarter. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main now owns 4,256,211 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $1,422,979,000 after buying an additional 3,841,521 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in Salesforce by 30,456.9% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,801,588 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $1,020,194,000 after buying an additional 3,789,147 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in Salesforce during the 4th quarter valued at $1,173,564,000. Finally, Invesco Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Salesforce by 42.5% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 7,791,015 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $2,604,770,000 after acquiring an additional 2,325,156 shares in the last quarter. 80.43% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Salesforce Stock Performance

Shares of CRM stock opened at $270.50 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $258.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 42.33, a PEG ratio of 2.43 and a beta of 1.38. Salesforce Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $230.00 and a fifty-two week high of $369.00. 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 stock has a 50 day moving average price of $269.86 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $295.19.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results 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 company had revenue of $9.83 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.74 billion. Salesforce had a net margin of 16.08% and a return on equity of 12.94%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 7.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.44 earnings per share. Analysts expect that Salesforce Inc. will post 7.46 earnings per share for the current year.

Salesforce Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 10th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, June 18th will be given a $0.416 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, June 18th. This represents a $1.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.62%. Salesforce's dividend payout ratio is currently 25.98%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on CRM shares. Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their price target on Salesforce from $243.00 to $255.00 and gave the company an "underperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 29th. Bank of America reduced their target price on Salesforce from $440.00 to $400.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Morgan Stanley reissued an "overweight" rating and issued a $404.00 price target (up from $393.00) on shares of Salesforce in a report on Thursday, May 29th. Barclays cut their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $425.00 to $347.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 29th. Finally, Stephens decreased their target price on shares of Salesforce from $311.00 to $309.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 30th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, twenty-eight have given a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $349.08.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Srinivas Tallapragada sold 6,697 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $295.00, for a total transaction of $1,975,615.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 41,422 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $12,219,490. The trade was a 13.92% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Brian Millham sold 979 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $253.66, for a total transaction of $248,333.14. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 6,487 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,645,492.42. The trade was a 13.11% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 26,284 shares of company stock valued at $6,996,762. Company insiders own 3.20% of the company's stock.

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.

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