Headlands Technologies LLC Sells 4,251 Shares of Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Key Points

• Headlands Technologies LLC reduced its holdings in Salesforce Inc. by 12.6% during the 1st quarter, owning 29,563 shares valued at approximately $7.93 million.
• Multiple hedge funds made significant adjustments to their stakes in Salesforce, with DZ BANK AG increasing its position by 926.4% and GAMMA Investing LLC boosting its stake by 30,456.9% in the first quarter.
• Salesforce's recent earnings report showed a revenue of $9.83 billion, exceeding estimates, while the company also announced a dividend cut, currently yielding 0.7%.

Headlands Technologies LLC reduced its stake in Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM - Free Report) by 12.6% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 29,563 shares of the CRM provider's stock after selling 4,251 shares during the period. Salesforce accounts for approximately 0.9% of Headlands Technologies LLC's holdings, making the stock its 20th biggest position. Headlands Technologies LLC's holdings in Salesforce were worth $7,934,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Waycross Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Salesforce in the 1st quarter worth approximately $22,946,000. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board lifted its stake in shares of Salesforce by 17.7% in the 1st quarter. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board now owns 1,007,088 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $270,262,000 after acquiring an additional 151,628 shares during the period. 1834 Investment Advisors Co. lifted its stake in shares of Salesforce by 11.3% in the 1st quarter. 1834 Investment Advisors Co. now owns 3,115 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $836,000 after acquiring an additional 315 shares during the period. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of Salesforce by 5.9% in the 1st quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC now owns 8,382 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $2,332,000 after acquiring an additional 466 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in Salesforce by 4.9% during the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 6,362,035 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $1,707,316,000 after purchasing an additional 295,681 shares during the last quarter. 80.43% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Salesforce Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE CRM traded down $0.79 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $240.09. 8,807,591 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,971,969. 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 company's 50 day moving average is $263.47 and its 200 day moving average is $279.14. The firm has a market capitalization of $229.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.57, a P/E/G ratio of 2.18 and a beta of 1.37. Salesforce Inc. has a one year low of $230.00 and a one year high of $369.00.

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, topping the consensus estimate of $2.55 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $9.83 billion during 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%. Salesforce's quarterly revenue was up 7.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.44 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Salesforce Inc. will post 7.46 EPS for the current year.

Salesforce Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 10th. Investors of record on Wednesday, June 18th were issued a dividend of $0.416 per share. This represents a $1.66 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, June 18th. Salesforce's dividend payout ratio is currently 25.98%.

Insider Activity

In other Salesforce news, CEO Marc Benioff sold 2,250 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $248.40, for a total value of $558,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 11,911,571 shares of the company's stock, 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 at this link. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 46,479 shares of company stock worth $12,457,591. 3.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently commented on CRM shares. Needham & Company LLC reissued a "buy" rating and set a $400.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Wednesday, May 28th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on shares of Salesforce from $340.00 to $385.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 29th. Westpark Capital reissued a "buy" rating and set a $320.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Wednesday, May 28th. DA Davidson reissued an "underperform" rating and set a $200.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Wednesday, May 28th. Finally, Citigroup cut their target price on shares of Salesforce from $320.00 to $295.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 30th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, twenty-seven have given a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Salesforce currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average 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.