Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM) Shares Sold by HighTower Advisors LLC

Key Points

• HighTower Advisors LLC sold 51,404 shares of Salesforce Inc. in Q1, reducing its stake by 11.4%, leaving them with 400,932 shares worth approximately $107.6 million.
• Institutional investors collectively own 80.43% of Salesforce's stock, with Vanguard Group increasing its stake by 1.6%, owning over 87.9 million shares valued at approximately $23.6 billion.
• CEO Marc Benioff recently sold 2,250 shares of Salesforce at an average price of $236.45, resulting in a total transaction value of approximately $532,000.

HighTower Advisors LLC reduced its stake in shares of Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM - Free Report) by 11.4% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 400,932 shares of the CRM provider's stock after selling 51,404 shares during the period. HighTower Advisors LLC's holdings in Salesforce were worth $107,594,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Trajan Wealth LLC raised its stake in shares of Salesforce by 2.8% during the 1st quarter. Trajan Wealth LLC now owns 57,459 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $15,420,000 after buying an additional 1,561 shares during the last quarter. Dillon & Associates Inc. raised its stake in shares of Salesforce by 6.4% during the 1st quarter. Dillon & Associates Inc. now owns 29,430 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $7,887,000 after buying an additional 1,779 shares during the last quarter. AGF Management Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Salesforce by 3,824.7% during the 1st quarter. AGF Management Ltd. now owns 219,745 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $58,971,000 after buying an additional 214,146 shares during the last quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board raised its stake in shares of Salesforce by 52.7% during the 1st quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 738,908 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $198,293,000 after buying an additional 254,939 shares during the last quarter. Finally, AIA Group Ltd raised its stake in shares of Salesforce by 8.0% during the 1st quarter. AIA Group Ltd now owns 32,885 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $8,825,000 after buying an additional 2,436 shares during the last quarter. 80.43% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on CRM shares. UBS Group set a $404.00 price target on Salesforce and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 18th. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued a "sector perform" rating and issued a $275.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Monday, July 14th. BMO Capital Markets cut their target price on shares of Salesforce from $350.00 to $335.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. Needham & Company LLC reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $400.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Wednesday, May 28th. Finally, Piper Sandler boosted their target price on shares of Salesforce from $315.00 to $335.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 28th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, twenty-seven have given a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Salesforce presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $346.84.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Salesforce news, CEO Marc Benioff sold 2,250 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $260.30, for a total value of $585,675.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 11,955,566 shares in the company, valued at $3,112,033,829.80. This represents a 0.02% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In the last three months, insiders sold 46,532 shares of company stock valued at $12,082,694. 3.00% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Salesforce Trading Down 1.5%

Shares of NYSE:CRM traded down $3.67 during trading on Thursday, reaching $233.37. 7,533,200 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 7,190,572. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a current ratio of 1.07. Salesforce Inc. has a 12-month low of $226.48 and a 12-month high of $369.00. The firm has a market cap of $223.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 1.37. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $261.72 and its 200 day moving average price is $277.44.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, May 28th. The CRM provider reported $2.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.55 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $9.83 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $9.74 billion. Salesforce had a return on equity of 12.94% and a net margin of 16.08%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 7.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.44 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Salesforce Inc. will post 7.46 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Cuts Dividend

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

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.