Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM) Shares Bought by Hemenway Trust Co LLC

Hemenway Trust Co LLC grew its stake in Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM - Free Report) by 54.9% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 33,929 shares of the CRM provider's stock after acquiring an additional 12,032 shares during the quarter. Hemenway Trust Co LLC's holdings in Salesforce were worth $9,105,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Salesforce during the fourth quarter worth $3,599,867,000. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main raised its position in shares of Salesforce by 926.4% during 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 worth $1,422,979,000 after purchasing an additional 3,841,521 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position 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 during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of Salesforce during the 4th quarter worth $1,173,564,000. Finally, Invesco Ltd. boosted its stake in Salesforce by 42.5% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 7,791,015 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $2,604,770,000 after purchasing an additional 2,325,156 shares during the period. 80.43% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Salesforce Stock Down 1.4%

Shares of NYSE CRM traded down $3.78 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $258.98. The company had a trading volume of 7,623,720 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,535,521. The company has a market capitalization of $247.59 billion, a PE ratio of 40.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 1.38. 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 business's 50-day simple moving average is $268.31 and its 200 day simple moving average is $298.72. Salesforce Inc. has a 1-year low of $230.00 and a 1-year high of $369.00.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, May 28th. The CRM provider reported $2.58 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 return on equity of 12.94% and a net margin of 16.08%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 7.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.44 EPS. On average, analysts predict that Salesforce Inc. will post 7.46 earnings per share for the current year.

Salesforce Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 10th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, June 18th will be given a dividend of $0.416 per share. This represents a $1.66 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.64%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, June 18th. Salesforce's payout ratio is 25.98%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CRM has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price target on Salesforce from $425.00 to $375.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on Salesforce from $340.00 to $385.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 29th. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price target on Salesforce from $425.00 to $375.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, March 31st. Loop Capital lowered their price target on Salesforce from $330.00 to $300.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, Robert W. Baird reduced their price target on Salesforce from $430.00 to $400.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 27th. 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 stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $349.08.

Insider Transactions at Salesforce

In related news, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 1,909 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $284.58, for a total value of $543,263.22. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 11,310 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,218,599.80. This represents a 14.44% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider R David Schmaier sold 6,959 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $253.31, for a total value of $1,762,784.29. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 36,090 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $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 three months, insiders sold 34,111 shares of company stock valued at $9,299,283. Corporate 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.