Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM) Shares Bought by Inspire Trust Co. N.A.

Key Points

• Inspire Trust Co. N.A. increased its stake in Salesforce by 63.6% in Q1, owning 9,000 shares valued at approximately $2.4 million.
• CEO Marc Benioff sold 2,250 shares recently, reducing his ownership by 0.02%, with a remaining position valued at about $2.8 billion.
• Salesforce reported a 7.6% increase in revenue year-over-year, with earnings per share at $2.58, exceeding consensus estimates.

Inspire Trust Co. N.A. lifted its holdings in Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM - Free Report) by 63.6% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 9,000 shares of the CRM provider's stock after acquiring an additional 3,500 shares during the period. Inspire Trust Co. N.A.'s holdings in Salesforce were worth $2,415,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Nuveen LLC bought a new stake in Salesforce during the 1st quarter valued at $2,039,196,000. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main raised its position in shares of Salesforce by 926.4% in 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 valued at $1,422,979,000 after purchasing an additional 3,841,521 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 30,456.9% during the first 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 last quarter. Northern Trust Corp increased its position in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 1,736,667 shares during the period. Finally, Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its stake 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 worth $488,486,000 after acquiring an additional 1,721,550 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.43% of the company's stock.

Salesforce Trading Up 4.0%

NYSE:CRM traded up $9.41 on Friday, hitting $242.78. The stock had a trading volume of 12,936,592 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,984,759. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $261.05 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $276.65. 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 $226.48 and a 1-year high of $369.00. The stock has a market cap of $232.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.99, a PEG ratio of 2.12 and a beta of 1.37.

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

Salesforce Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared 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 was Wednesday, June 18th. This represents a $1.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.7%. Salesforce's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 25.98%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

CRM has been the topic of a number of research reports. Northland Securities cut their price objective on Salesforce from $423.00 to $396.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 29th. Westpark Capital reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $320.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a report on Wednesday, May 28th. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price objective on Salesforce from $375.00 to $325.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. Mizuho decreased their target price on shares of Salesforce from $425.00 to $380.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 15th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on shares of Salesforce from $340.00 to $385.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 29th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating, twenty-seven have given a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $347.50.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Marc Benioff sold 2,250 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $234.64, for a total transaction of $527,940.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 11,911,571 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,794,931,019.44. This represents a 0.02% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders sold 46,532 shares of company stock valued at $12,082,694 in the last 90 days. 3.00% of the stock is 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.