J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG Has $23.76 Million Stake in Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Key Points

• J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG increased its stake in Salesforce Inc. by 99.7% in the 1st quarter, holding 88,544 shares worth approximately $23.76 million.
• Salesforce's stock has seen a 2.9% decrease recently, with its market capitalization at $239.81 billion.
• The company reported earnings of $2.58 per share for the last quarter, surpassing estimates, alongside a revenue of $9.83 billion, which is a 7.6% increase year-over-year.

J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG raised its position in shares of Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM - Free Report) by 99.7% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 88,544 shares of the CRM provider's stock after buying an additional 44,204 shares during the period. J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG's holdings in Salesforce were worth $23,764,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Northern Trust Corp increased its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 18.3% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 11,224,927 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $3,752,830,000 after buying an additional 1,736,667 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 23.2% during the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 8,938,536 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $2,988,422,000 after buying an additional 1,683,233 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 7.5% during the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 8,658,132 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $2,894,673,000 after buying an additional 602,445 shares in the last quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 1.3% during the fourth quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC now owns 8,598,989 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $2,874,900,000 after buying an additional 114,278 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 42.5% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 7,791,015 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $2,604,770,000 after buying an additional 2,325,156 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.43% of the company's stock.

Salesforce Stock Down 2.9%

Salesforce stock opened at $250.85 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $239.81 billion, a PE ratio of 39.26, a P/E/G ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 1.37. The company's 50-day moving average is $266.04 and its 200-day moving average is $282.19. Salesforce Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $230.00 and a fifty-two week high of $369.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a current ratio of 1.07 and a quick ratio of 1.07.

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 the consensus estimate of $2.55 by $0.03. The company 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%. Salesforce's revenue for the quarter was up 7.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.44 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Salesforce Inc. will post 7.46 earnings per share for the current year.

Salesforce Cuts Dividend

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CRM has been the subject of a number of research reports. Erste Group Bank lowered shares of Salesforce from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, June 5th. Canaccord Genuity Group lowered their price target on shares of Salesforce from $400.00 to $350.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, May 28th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Salesforce from $255.00 to $275.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, May 29th. DA Davidson reissued an "underperform" rating and issued a $200.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a report on Wednesday, May 28th. Finally, Guggenheim raised shares of Salesforce from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, April 21st. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, twenty-seven have issued a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $348.16.

Insider Activity at Salesforce

In related news, CEO Marc Benioff sold 2,250 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $265.77, for a total transaction of $597,982.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 11,911,571 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,165,738,224.67. The trade was a 0.02% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 39,729 shares of company stock worth $10,763,881. 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.

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