Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS Lowers Stock Position in Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS decreased its holdings in Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM - Free Report) by 5.3% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 21,438 shares of the CRM provider's stock after selling 1,200 shares during the quarter. Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS's holdings in Salesforce were worth $5,753,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Concord Asset Management LLC VA increased its stake in shares of Salesforce by 10.8% in the first quarter. Concord Asset Management LLC VA now owns 7,999 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $2,004,000 after acquiring an additional 782 shares during the period. Wealthfront Advisers LLC grew its stake in shares of Salesforce by 5.7% during the 1st quarter. Wealthfront Advisers LLC now owns 106,221 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $28,505,000 after purchasing an additional 5,697 shares during the period. GPM Growth Investors Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 1.0% during the 1st quarter. GPM Growth Investors Inc. now owns 10,544 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $2,830,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Salesforce by 3.7% in the 1st quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 57,044 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $15,308,000 after purchasing an additional 2,056 shares during the period. Finally, Whittier Trust Co. boosted its holdings in Salesforce by 1.3% during the first quarter. Whittier Trust Co. now owns 121,497 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $32,603,000 after buying an additional 1,521 shares in the last quarter. 80.43% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Salesforce news, insider R David Schmaier sold 4,586 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $253.66, for a total value of $1,163,284.76. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 33,273 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,440,029.18. This represents a 12.11% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 1,525 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $253.66, for a total transaction of $386,831.50. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 12,211 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,097,442.26. This trade represents a 11.10% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 33,819 shares of company stock worth $9,111,823. 3.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the stock. UBS Group set a $404.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 18th. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and issued a $404.00 price target (up previously from $393.00) on shares of Salesforce in a report on Thursday, May 29th. Erste Group Bank cut Salesforce from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, June 5th. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price target on shares of Salesforce from $350.00 to $335.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. 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 assigned a hold rating, twenty-seven have assigned a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $348.16.

Salesforce Stock Up 1.0%

Salesforce stock traded up $2.52 during trading on Friday, reaching $262.40. The stock had a trading volume of 6,376,432 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,555,507. 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 business has a 50 day moving average price of $270.45 and a 200 day moving average price of $286.50. The stock has a market cap of $250.85 billion, a PE ratio of 41.06, a P/E/G ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 1.36. Salesforce Inc. has a 52-week low of $230.00 and a 52-week high of $369.00.

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 (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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.74 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.44 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 7.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts predict that Salesforce Inc. will post 7.46 EPS for the current year.

Salesforce Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 10th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, June 18th were paid 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 0.63%. Salesforce's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 25.98%.

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.