Grassi Investment Management Acquires 1,350 Shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Grassi Investment Management boosted its position in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM - Free Report) by 4.2% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 33,514 shares of the CRM provider's stock after buying an additional 1,350 shares during the period. Grassi Investment Management's holdings in Salesforce were worth $8,994,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of CRM. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Salesforce in the fourth quarter valued at $3,599,867,000. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main lifted its holdings in Salesforce by 926.4% in the fourth quarter. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main now owns 4,256,211 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $1,422,979,000 after buying an additional 3,841,521 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 30,456.9% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,801,588 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $1,020,194,000 after purchasing an additional 3,789,147 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Salesforce during the fourth quarter valued at about $1,173,564,000. Finally, Invesco Ltd. raised its holdings 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 valued at $2,604,770,000 after purchasing an additional 2,325,156 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.43% of the company's stock.

Salesforce Stock Performance

Shares of CRM stock traded up $7.34 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $274.48. 7,500,949 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,590,016. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $266.57 and a 200 day simple moving average of $302.19. The company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. Salesforce, Inc. has a 52-week low of $227.77 and a 52-week high of $369.00. The stock has a market capitalization of $262.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 45.14, a P/E/G ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 1.38.

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, topping the consensus estimate of $2.55 by $0.03. Salesforce had a net margin of 15.96% and a return on equity of 12.34%. The company had revenue of $9.83 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.74 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.44 EPS. Salesforce's quarterly revenue was up 7.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.46 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 10th. Investors of record on Wednesday, June 18th will be issued a $0.416 dividend. This represents a $1.66 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.61%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, June 18th. Salesforce's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 25.98%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $367.00 to $350.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, May 27th. Erste Group Bank lowered shares of Salesforce from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday. Bank of America dropped their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $440.00 to $400.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Loop Capital dropped their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $330.00 to $300.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, Mizuho dropped their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $425.00 to $380.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 15th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating, twenty-seven have assigned a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $346.34.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Parker Harris sold 3,273 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $284.58, for a total value of $931,430.34. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 125,146 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $35,614,048.68. This trade represents a 2.55% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider R David Schmaier sold 6,959 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $253.31, for a total transaction of $1,762,784.29. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 36,090 shares in the company, valued at $9,141,957.90. This represents a 16.17% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 40,332 shares of company stock valued at $11,024,802. 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.