Guggenheim Capital LLC Grows Stake in Salesforce Inc. $CRM

Key Points

• Guggenheim Capital LLC increased its holdings in Salesforce Inc. by 12.4%, owning 122,742 shares worth approximately $32.94 million after acquiring 13,504 additional shares.
• Salesforce reported an EPS of $2.58 for the last quarter, exceeding analysts' expectations and showing a 7.6% year-over-year revenue increase to $9.83 billion.
• Salesforce's stock has a current market cap of $233.52 billion and has seen a trading range between $226.48 and $369.00 over the past twelve months.

Guggenheim Capital LLC raised its position in shares of Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM - Free Report) by 12.4% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 122,742 shares of the CRM provider's stock after purchasing an additional 13,504 shares during the period. Guggenheim Capital LLC's holdings in Salesforce were worth $32,939,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 1.6% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 87,913,628 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $23,592,501,000 after acquiring an additional 1,383,942 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 5.1% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 9,014,148 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $2,419,037,000 after acquiring an additional 437,435 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 7.5% in the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 8,658,132 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $2,894,673,000 after acquiring an additional 602,445 shares during the period. Nuveen Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC now owns 8,598,989 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $2,874,900,000 after acquiring an additional 114,278 shares during the period. Finally, Nuveen LLC bought a new position in shares of Salesforce in the first quarter worth $2,039,196,000. 80.43% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

CRM has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $400.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a report on Wednesday, May 28th. Citigroup reaffirmed a "neutral" rating on shares of Salesforce in a report on Thursday. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Salesforce from $255.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, May 29th. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued a "sector perform" rating and set a $275.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Monday, August 18th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets dropped their price objective on Salesforce from $350.00 to $335.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-five have assigned a Buy rating, ten have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Salesforce currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $340.43.

Salesforce Price Performance

CRM stock traded up $1.84 during trading on Friday, reaching $256.37. The company's stock had a trading volume of 7,354,032 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,238,982. Salesforce Inc. has a 1 year low of $226.48 and a 1 year high of $369.00. The company has a quick ratio of 1.07, a current ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. The company has a market capitalization of $245.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.27 and a beta of 1.37. The company's fifty day moving average is $257.43 and its 200-day moving average is $270.14.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 28th. The CRM provider reported $2.58 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.55 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $9.83 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.74 billion. Salesforce had a return on equity of 12.94% and a net margin of 16.08%.The business's quarterly revenue was up 7.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.44 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that Salesforce Inc. will post 7.46 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed 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. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, June 18th. This represents a $1.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.6%. 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 dated Wednesday, July 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $257.02, for a total transaction of $578,295.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 11,911,571 shares in the company, valued at $3,061,511,978.42. This trade represents a 0.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders sold a total of 59,327 shares of company stock worth $15,201,738 in the last ninety days. Company 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.