Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund Purchases 7,238 Shares of Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund grew its position in shares of Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM - Free Report) by 36.8% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 26,884 shares of the CRM provider's stock after buying an additional 7,238 shares during the quarter. Salesforce accounts for 0.5% of Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund's portfolio, making the stock its 27th largest position. Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund's holdings in Salesforce were worth $7,215,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in CRM. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC increased its holdings in Salesforce by 4.1% during the 4th quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 787 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $263,000 after purchasing an additional 31 shares during the period. Mainstream Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Salesforce by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Mainstream Capital Management LLC now owns 6,409 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $2,143,000 after buying an additional 33 shares in the last quarter. Delap Wealth Advisory LLC raised its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 2.7% in the fourth quarter. Delap Wealth Advisory LLC now owns 1,336 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $447,000 after acquiring an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. Pine Valley Investments Ltd Liability Co lifted its stake in Salesforce by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Pine Valley Investments Ltd Liability Co now owns 7,082 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $2,369,000 after acquiring an additional 35 shares during the period. Finally, Wulff Hansen & CO. increased its position in Salesforce by 3.5% during the 4th quarter. Wulff Hansen & CO. now owns 1,035 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $346,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 80.43% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Salesforce

In other Salesforce news, CEO Brian Millham sold 3,937 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $284.58, for a total value of $1,120,391.46. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 5,518 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,570,312.44. This trade represents a 41.64% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Srinivas Tallapragada sold 6,697 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $295.00, for a total value of $1,975,615.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 41,422 shares of the company's stock, valued at $12,219,490. This trade represents a 13.92% 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 three months. Company insiders own 3.20% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CRM has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Loop Capital dropped their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $330.00 to $300.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Macquarie reissued a "neutral" rating and issued a $320.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. BMO Capital Markets cut their target price on Salesforce from $367.00 to $350.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, May 27th. Citigroup lowered their price target on shares of Salesforce from $320.00 to $295.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 30th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Salesforce from $255.00 to $275.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating 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 assigned a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $349.08.

Salesforce Stock Performance

Shares of CRM stock opened at $260.79 on Friday. Salesforce Inc. has a 52-week low of $230.00 and a 52-week 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 has a market cap of $249.31 billion, a PE ratio of 40.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 1.38. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $268.51 and a 200-day simple moving average of $297.25.

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

Salesforce Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 10th. Investors of record on Wednesday, June 18th will be paid a $0.416 dividend. This represents a $1.66 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.64%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, June 18th. Salesforce's dividend payout ratio is currently 25.98%.

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.

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