ING Groep NV Purchases 125,337 Shares of Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Key Points

• ING Groep NV has increased its stake in Salesforce Inc. by 41.7%, now owning 426,246 shares worth approximately $114 million.
• Salesforce recently reported an EPS of $2.58 for the last quarter, exceeding analyst expectations, with revenue rising 7.6% year-over-year.
• Insider trading activity includes CEO Marc Benioff selling 2,250 shares at an average price of $265.77, which accounts for a 0.02% decrease in his ownership.

ING Groep NV grew its position in shares of Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM - Free Report) by 41.7% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 426,246 shares of the CRM provider's stock after buying an additional 125,337 shares during the quarter. Salesforce accounts for approximately 0.8% of ING Groep NV's investment portfolio, making the stock its 24th biggest holding. ING Groep NV's holdings in Salesforce were worth $114,387,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of CRM. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. purchased a new position in shares of Salesforce in the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. Accredited Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Salesforce during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Capital A Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in Salesforce by 450.0% during the first quarter. Capital A Wealth Management LLC now owns 110 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 90 shares in the last quarter. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC grew its position in Salesforce by 314.8% in the 1st quarter. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 112 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 85 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Abound Financial LLC bought a new stake in shares of Salesforce in the first quarter valued at about $31,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.43% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Salesforce news, CEO Marc Benioff sold 2,250 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $259.67, for a total value of $584,257.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 11,955,566 shares in the company, valued at $3,104,501,823.22. This represents a 0.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Srinivas Tallapragada sold 6,697 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $295.00, for a total transaction of $1,975,615.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 41,422 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $12,219,490. This represents a 13.92% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 44,229 shares of company stock worth $11,898,691. Insiders own 3.20% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

CRM has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. JMP Securities restated a "market outperform" rating and issued a $430.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Friday, July 11th. Oppenheimer reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $370.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Tuesday, June 10th. BMO Capital Markets dropped their target price on Salesforce from $350.00 to $335.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. Citigroup reduced their price objective on Salesforce from $320.00 to $295.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 30th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $340.00 to $385.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 29th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, twenty-seven have assigned a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $348.16.

Salesforce Price Performance

CRM traded down $7.74 during trading on Thursday, reaching $241.43. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,824,443 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,041,328. The company has a market cap of $230.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.87, a PEG ratio of 2.25 and a beta of 1.37. 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 Inc. has a 1 year low of $230.00 and a 1 year high of $369.00. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $264.50 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $280.68.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, May 28th. The CRM provider reported $2.58 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.55 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $9.83 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 last year, the company posted $2.44 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Salesforce Inc. will post 7.46 EPS for the current year.

Salesforce Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 10th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, June 18th were paid a $0.416 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, June 18th. This represents a $1.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.7%. Salesforce's 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.