IFM Investors Pty Ltd Buys 17,081 Shares of Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

IFM Investors Pty Ltd raised its position in Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM - Free Report) by 9.3% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 200,154 shares of the CRM provider's stock after buying an additional 17,081 shares during the period. Salesforce accounts for about 0.5% of IFM Investors Pty Ltd's investment portfolio, making the stock its 27th biggest position. IFM Investors Pty Ltd's holdings in Salesforce were worth $54,784,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp grew its position in Salesforce by 2.7% during the 4th quarter. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp now owns 27,358 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $9,146,000 after acquiring an additional 723 shares during the last quarter. Millstone Evans Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Salesforce during the fourth quarter worth $823,000. Heartland Bank & Trust Co increased its stake in shares of Salesforce by 117.2% in the first quarter. Heartland Bank & Trust Co now owns 5,981 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $1,605,000 after buying an additional 3,227 shares in the last quarter. Catalyst Funds Management Pty Ltd bought a new position in shares of Salesforce in the fourth quarter valued at about $5,249,000. Finally, Elwood Capital Partners LP acquired a new position in Salesforce during the 4th quarter worth about $1,337,000. 80.43% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Salesforce Stock Up 0.9%

Shares of CRM traded up $2.37 on Friday, hitting $271.58. The company's stock had a trading volume of 5,031,804 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,543,873. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $272.21 and its 200-day moving average price is $292.32. Salesforce Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $230.00 and a fifty-two week high of $369.00. The company has a quick ratio of 1.07, a current ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. The firm has a market capitalization of $259.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.50, a P/E/G ratio of 2.47 and a beta of 1.36.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 28th. The CRM provider reported $2.58 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 revenue was up 7.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.44 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that Salesforce Inc. will post 7.46 EPS for the current year.

Salesforce Cuts Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on CRM shares. Stephens dropped their target price on shares of Salesforce from $311.00 to $309.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 30th. Mizuho lowered their price target on shares of Salesforce from $425.00 to $380.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 15th. Royal Bank Of Canada downgraded Salesforce from an "outperform" rating to a "sector perform" rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $420.00 to $275.00 in a report on Thursday, May 29th. UBS Group set a $404.00 price objective on Salesforce and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 18th. Finally, Barclays dropped their target price on Salesforce from $425.00 to $347.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 29th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, twenty-eight have assigned a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $349.08.

Insider Transactions at Salesforce

In related news, insider Srinivas Tallapragada sold 6,697 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $295.00, for a total value of $1,975,615.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 41,422 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $12,219,490. This trade represents a 13.92% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Parker Harris sold 1,142 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $262.35, for a total value of $299,603.70. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 136,824 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $35,895,776.40. This trade represents a 0.83% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 28,534 shares of company stock worth $7,609,842. Company insiders own 3.20% of the company's stock.

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.