Highland Capital Management LLC Lowers Holdings in Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Highland Capital Management LLC reduced its position in Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM - Free Report) by 20.4% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 10,292 shares of the CRM provider's stock after selling 2,633 shares during the period. Highland Capital Management LLC's holdings in Salesforce were worth $2,762,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Salesforce during the 4th quarter valued at about $3,599,867,000. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main increased its holdings in 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 valued at $1,422,979,000 after buying an additional 3,841,521 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in Salesforce by 30,456.9% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,801,588 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $1,020,194,000 after acquiring an additional 3,789,147 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Salesforce during the 4th quarter worth $1,173,564,000. Finally, Invesco Ltd. grew its position in shares of Salesforce by 42.5% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 7,791,015 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $2,604,770,000 after acquiring an additional 2,325,156 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 80.43% of the company's stock.

Salesforce Stock Down 0.2%

Shares of NYSE:CRM traded down $0.57 during trading on Monday, reaching $272.85. The stock had a trading volume of 8,536,767 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,537,288. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $270.38 and its 200 day simple moving average is $293.80. The company has a current ratio of 1.07, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. Salesforce Inc. has a one year low of $230.00 and a one year high of $369.00. The company has a market capitalization of $260.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 42.70, a PEG ratio of 2.48 and a beta of 1.38.

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 for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.55 by $0.03. Salesforce had a return on equity of 12.94% and a net margin of 16.08%. The firm had revenue of $9.83 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $9.74 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.44 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up 7.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that Salesforce Inc. will post 7.46 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Cuts Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 10th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, June 18th will be paid a dividend of $0.416 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, June 18th. This represents a $1.66 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.61%. Salesforce's payout ratio is currently 25.98%.

Insider Transactions at Salesforce

In related news, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 1,525 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $253.66, for a total value of $386,831.50. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 12,211 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,097,442.26. This represents a 11.10% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Srinivas Tallapragada sold 6,697 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $295.00, for a total transaction of $1,975,615.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 41,422 shares of the company's stock, valued at $12,219,490. This represents a 13.92% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 26,284 shares of company stock worth $6,996,762 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 3.20% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on CRM shares. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an "overweight" rating and issued a $325.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Thursday. Oppenheimer reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $370.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Tuesday, June 10th. Westpark Capital restated a "buy" rating and issued a $320.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Wednesday, May 28th. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and issued a $404.00 price objective (up previously from $393.00) on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Thursday, May 29th. Finally, Mizuho cut their target price on Salesforce from $425.00 to $380.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 15th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, twenty-eight have given a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $349.08.

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.