Kentucky Retirement Systems lessened its position in Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM - Free Report) by 5.2% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 63,119 shares of the CRM provider's stock after selling 3,470 shares during the quarter. Salesforce makes up about 0.5% of Kentucky Retirement Systems' portfolio, making the stock its 27th biggest position. Kentucky Retirement Systems' holdings in Salesforce were worth $16,939,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.
A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in Salesforce by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 19,955,353 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $6,656,078,000 after buying an additional 175,035 shares during the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its position in Salesforce by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 12,453,872 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $4,163,703,000 after buying an additional 177,321 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp raised its position in 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 buying an additional 1,736,667 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Salesforce in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $3,599,867,000. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its position in shares of Salesforce by 23.2% during the 4th 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 purchasing an additional 1,683,233 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.43% of the company's stock.
Salesforce Stock Performance
NYSE:CRM opened at $260.79 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $268.51 and a 200-day moving average price of $297.25. The company has a market cap of $249.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.81, a PEG ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 1.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a current ratio of 1.07. Salesforce Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $230.00 and a fifty-two week high of $369.00.
Salesforce (NYSE:CRM - Get Free Report) last released its 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.74 billion. Salesforce had a return on equity of 12.94% and a net margin of 16.08%. The company's revenue was up 7.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.44 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Salesforce Inc. will post 7.46 EPS for the current fiscal year.
Salesforce Cuts Dividend
The firm 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 dividend of $0.416 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, June 18th. This represents a $1.66 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.64%. Salesforce's dividend payout ratio is currently 25.98%.
Insider Buying and Selling
In related news, insider Miguel Milano sold 705 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, May 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $279.44, for a total transaction of $197,005.20. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 9,323 shares in the company, valued at $2,605,219.12. This represents a 7.03% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, May 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $275.00, for a total value of $137,500.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 11,711 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,220,525. This represents a 4.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 34,111 shares of company stock worth $9,299,283 in the last ninety days. 3.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.
Analyst Ratings Changes
CRM has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Macquarie reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and set a $320.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $400.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Wednesday, May 28th. Oppenheimer reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $370.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Tuesday, June 10th. Barclays lowered their price target on Salesforce from $425.00 to $347.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 29th. Finally, Northland Securities lowered their price target on Salesforce from $423.00 to $396.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 29th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, twenty-eight have issued a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $349.08.
Read Our Latest Stock Report on CRM
About Salesforce
(
Free Report)
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.
See Also
Want to see what other hedge funds are holding CRM? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM - Free Report).
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