Salesforce Inc. $CRM Position Increased by J. Stern & Co. LLP

Key Points

• J. Stern & Co. LLP increased its stake in Salesforce Inc. by 10.0%, acquiring a total of 197,840 shares, valued at approximately $53.1 million.
• CEO Marc Benioff sold 2,250 shares of Salesforce stock, reducing his ownership slightly, while insiders have sold over 54,000 shares in recent months.
• Salesforce achieved earnings of $2.58 per share in its last quarter, exceeding estimates, with a revenue growth of 7.6% year-over-year.

J. Stern & Co. LLP lifted its position in shares of Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM - Free Report) by 10.0% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 197,840 shares of the CRM provider's stock after purchasing an additional 17,956 shares during the period. Salesforce comprises approximately 5.1% of J. Stern & Co. LLP's portfolio, making the stock its 9th largest position. J. Stern & Co. LLP's holdings in Salesforce were worth $53,092,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Coign Capital Advisors LLC raised its stake in Salesforce by 1.7% in the 1st quarter. Coign Capital Advisors LLC now owns 2,183 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $586,000 after acquiring an additional 37 shares during the period. Staley Capital Advisers Inc. boosted its stake in Salesforce by 1.1% in the first quarter. Staley Capital Advisers Inc. now owns 3,343 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $897,000 after buying an additional 38 shares in the last quarter. Liberty One Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Salesforce by 1.2% during the first quarter. Liberty One Investment Management LLC now owns 3,165 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $849,000 after purchasing an additional 39 shares in the last quarter. First Command Advisory Services Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Salesforce by 7.3% during the first quarter. First Command Advisory Services Inc. now owns 572 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $154,000 after purchasing an additional 39 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mendel Money Management raised its position in shares of Salesforce by 3.6% during the first quarter. Mendel Money Management now owns 1,112 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $298,000 after acquiring an additional 39 shares during the last quarter. 80.43% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Salesforce Stock Performance

CRM stock traded up $1.84 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $256.37. The company's stock had a trading volume of 7,354,032 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,243,193. Salesforce Inc. has a 1 year low of $226.48 and a 1 year 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 stock's 50-day moving average price is $257.34 and its 200 day moving average price is $269.67. The stock has a market cap of $245.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.12, a PEG ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.37.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 28th. The CRM provider reported $2.58 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.55 by $0.03. Salesforce had a return on equity of 12.94% and a net margin of 16.08%.The firm had revenue of $9.83 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $9.74 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.44 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 7.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts forecast that Salesforce Inc. will post 7.46 EPS for the current year.

Salesforce Cuts Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 10th. Investors of record on Wednesday, June 18th were paid a dividend of $0.416 per share. This represents a $1.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, June 18th. Salesforce's payout ratio is presently 25.98%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Marc Benioff sold 2,250 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $248.56, for a total transaction of $559,260.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 11,911,571 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,960,740,087.76. The trade was a 0.02% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 59,327 shares of company stock worth $15,201,738. Insiders own 3.00% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CRM has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. JMP Securities reiterated a "market outperform" rating and issued a $430.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a report on Friday, July 11th. Piper Sandler lifted their target price on Salesforce from $315.00 to $335.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 28th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an "overweight" rating and issued a $404.00 target price (up from $393.00) on shares of Salesforce in a report on Thursday, May 29th. Barclays reduced their price objective on Salesforce from $347.00 to $316.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, August 18th. Finally, Mizuho reduced their price objective on Salesforce from $425.00 to $380.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 15th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-four have assigned a Buy rating, ten have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Salesforce currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $341.47.

Salesforce 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.