Handelsbanken Fonder AB boosted its stake in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM - Free Report) by 6.5% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 378,112 shares of the CRM provider's stock after buying an additional 22,986 shares during the period. Handelsbanken Fonder AB's holdings in Salesforce were worth $101,470,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.
Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Petredis Investment Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Salesforce by 1.2% in the 1st quarter. Petredis Investment Advisors LLC now owns 19,901 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $5,341,000 after buying an additional 234 shares during the period. Sanibel Captiva Trust Company Inc. grew its position in Salesforce by 0.3% in the 1st quarter. Sanibel Captiva Trust Company Inc. now owns 127,175 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $34,129,000 after acquiring an additional 349 shares in the last quarter. Central Valley Advisors LLC grew its position in Salesforce by 6.1% in the 1st quarter. Central Valley Advisors LLC now owns 6,981 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $1,873,000 after acquiring an additional 401 shares in the last quarter. Curated Wealth Partners LLC grew its position in Salesforce by 38.0% in the 1st quarter. Curated Wealth Partners LLC now owns 1,299 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $349,000 after acquiring an additional 358 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sonora Investment Management Group LLC grew its position in Salesforce by 36.0% in the 1st quarter. Sonora Investment Management Group LLC now owns 30,694 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $8,237,000 after acquiring an additional 8,121 shares in the last quarter. 80.43% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.
Salesforce Price Performance
Shares of NYSE CRM traded down $2.29 on Wednesday, hitting $265.93. The company's stock had a trading volume of 6,556,774 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,578,379. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $266.84 and a 200-day moving average of $301.47. The company has a market capitalization of $254.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 43.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 1.38. Salesforce, Inc. has a 12-month low of $227.77 and a 12-month high of $369.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 1.11.
Salesforce (NYSE:CRM - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 28th. The CRM provider reported $2.58 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.55 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $9.83 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.74 billion. Salesforce had a return on equity of 12.34% and a net margin of 15.96%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 7.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.44 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.46 EPS for the current year.
Salesforce Cuts Dividend
The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 10th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, June 18th will be paid a $0.416 dividend. This represents a $1.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.63%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, June 18th. Salesforce's payout ratio is 25.98%.
Analyst Ratings Changes
A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the company. Barclays lowered their price objective on Salesforce from $425.00 to $347.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 29th. Cantor Fitzgerald initiated coverage on Salesforce in a research report on Tuesday, June 3rd. They set an "overweight" rating and a $325.00 price objective for the company. Sanford C. Bernstein upped their price target on Salesforce from $243.00 to $255.00 and gave the company an "underperform" rating in a report on Thursday, May 29th. Stephens lowered their price target on Salesforce from $311.00 to $309.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 30th. Finally, Macquarie reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and issued a $320.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating, twenty-seven have assigned a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Salesforce currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $346.34.
Read Our Latest Report on CRM
Insider Activity
In other news, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, May 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $275.00, for a total value of $137,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 11,711 shares in the company, valued at $3,220,525. This represents a 4.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Parker Harris sold 3,273 shares of the company's stock in a transaction 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 sale, the insider now 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 40,332 shares of company stock valued at $11,024,802 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 3.20% of the company's stock.
Salesforce Profile
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Free Report)
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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