iA Global Asset Management Inc. Decreases Holdings in Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Key Points

• iA Global Asset Management Inc. cut its stake in Salesforce Inc. by 70.5%, selling 42,913 shares and reducing its holdings to 17,994 shares worth approximately $4.8 million.
• Despite the recent sale by iA Global, other institutions like Bank of Nova Scotia and Shelton Capital Management have increased their stakes in Salesforce, indicating continued interest in the company among investors.
• Salesforce reported increased revenue of $9.83 billion for the latest quarter, exceeding analyst expectations, and achieved a net margin of 16.08%.

iA Global Asset Management Inc. lowered its holdings in shares of Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM - Free Report) by 70.5% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 17,994 shares of the CRM provider's stock after selling 42,913 shares during the quarter. iA Global Asset Management Inc.'s holdings in Salesforce were worth $4,829,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of CRM. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main boosted its stake in shares of Salesforce by 926.4% during the 4th 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 boosted 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 period. Northern Trust Corp boosted its position in Salesforce by 18.3% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 11,224,927 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $3,752,830,000 after buying an additional 1,736,667 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its position in Salesforce by 1,744.0% in the 1st quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 1,820,262 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $488,486,000 after buying an additional 1,721,550 shares during the period. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its position in Salesforce by 23.2% in the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 8,938,536 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $2,988,422,000 after buying an additional 1,683,233 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 80.43% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CRM has been the subject of several research reports. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $350.00 to $335.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. Westpark Capital reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $320.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Wednesday, May 28th. Oppenheimer reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $370.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Tuesday, June 10th. DA Davidson reissued an "underperform" rating and issued a $200.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Wednesday, May 28th. Finally, JMP Securities reissued a "market outperform" rating and issued a $430.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Friday, July 11th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, twenty-seven have assigned a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $348.16.

Salesforce Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:CRM traded down $8.54 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $240.63. The company's stock had a trading volume of 9,997,676 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,834,085. The firm has a market capitalization of $230.04 billion, a PE ratio of 37.66, a P/E/G ratio of 2.26 and a beta of 1.37. Salesforce Inc. has a twelve month low of $230.00 and a twelve month high of $369.00. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $263.97 and a 200 day moving average of $280.10. The company has a quick ratio of 1.07, a current ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM - Get Free Report) last released 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. The firm had revenue of $9.83 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.74 billion. Salesforce had a net margin of 16.08% and a return on equity of 12.94%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 7.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.44 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that Salesforce Inc. will post 7.46 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Cuts Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Marc Benioff sold 2,250 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $248.40, for a total transaction of $558,900.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 11,911,571 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,958,834,236.40. This trade represents a 0.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders have sold a total of 46,479 shares of company stock worth $12,457,591 in the last quarter. 3.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Salesforce Company 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.