Kovack Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM - Free Report) by 9.7% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 11,054 shares of the CRM provider's stock after acquiring an additional 981 shares during the quarter. Kovack Advisors Inc.'s holdings in Salesforce were worth $2,966,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Salesforce by 0.9% during 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 acquiring an additional 175,035 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp raised its position in Salesforce by 18.3% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 11,224,927 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $3,752,830,000 after acquiring an additional 1,736,667 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Salesforce during the 4th quarter worth $3,599,867,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew 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 valued at $2,988,422,000 after acquiring an additional 1,683,233 shares during the period. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its stake in shares of Salesforce by 7.5% in the 4th 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 purchasing an additional 602,445 shares in the last quarter. 80.43% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.
Wall Street Analyst Weigh In
A number of analysts have commented on CRM shares. DA Davidson restated an "underperform" rating and issued a $200.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Wednesday, May 28th. Stephens lowered their price target on shares of Salesforce from $311.00 to $309.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 30th. JMP Securities reissued a "market outperform" rating and issued a $430.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Friday, July 11th. Guggenheim upgraded shares of Salesforce from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, April 21st. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated a "sector perform" rating and issued a $275.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Monday, July 14th. Three 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 company. According to MarketBeat.com, Salesforce has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $348.16.
Read Our Latest Research Report on CRM
Salesforce Stock Up 0.5%
Shares of CRM traded up $1.41 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $269.11. 4,013,320 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 6,704,325. The company has a current ratio of 1.07, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. The stock has a market capitalization of $257.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.43 and a beta of 1.36. The firm's fifty day moving average is $268.07 and its 200-day moving average is $284.27. Salesforce Inc. has a 1 year low of $230.00 and a 1 year high of $369.00.
Salesforce (NYSE:CRM - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 28th. The CRM provider reported $2.58 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.55 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $9.83 billion during 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 was up 7.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.44 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Salesforce Inc. will post 7.46 earnings per share for the current year.
Salesforce Cuts Dividend
The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 10th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, June 18th were paid a $0.416 dividend. This represents a $1.66 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.62%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, June 18th. Salesforce's payout ratio is 25.98%.
Insider Activity at Salesforce
In related news, CEO Marc Benioff sold 2,250 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $266.56, for a total value of $599,760.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 11,911,571 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,175,148,365.76. This represents a 0.02% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders sold a total of 33,479 shares of company stock worth $9,091,796 over the last three months. Insiders own 3.20% of the company's stock.
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.
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