LGT Fund Management Co Ltd. Sells 3,969 Shares of Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Key Points

• LGT Fund Management Co Ltd. reduced its stake in Salesforce Inc. by 5.5%, holding 67,797 shares valued at approximately $18.19 million, making it the 15th largest position in their portfolio.
• Several institutional investors have increased their investments in Salesforce, notably Vanguard, which raised its stake by 1.6%, owning over 87.9 million shares valued at around $23.59 billion.
• Salesforce’s stock received mixed analyst ratings, with a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $348.16, while also reporting earnings exceeding expectations and a 7.6% year-over-year revenue increase.

LGT Fund Management Co Ltd. cut its holdings in shares of Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM - Free Report) by 5.5% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 67,797 shares of the CRM provider's stock after selling 3,969 shares during the period. Salesforce comprises approximately 1.6% of LGT Fund Management Co Ltd.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 15th biggest position. LGT Fund Management Co Ltd.'s holdings in Salesforce were worth $18,194,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of CRM. Russell Investments Group Ltd. boosted its stake in Salesforce by 22.0% in the first quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 1,107,915 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $297,493,000 after buying an additional 200,083 shares in the last quarter. Prudential PLC lifted its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 8.7% in the first quarter. Prudential PLC now owns 131,209 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $35,211,000 after acquiring an additional 10,496 shares during the last quarter. Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Salesforce by 7.9% in the 1st quarter. Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 309,339 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $83,093,000 after purchasing an additional 22,552 shares in the last quarter. Rathbones Group PLC boosted its stake in shares of Salesforce by 30.8% in the 1st quarter. Rathbones Group PLC now owns 567,493 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $152,292,000 after purchasing an additional 133,465 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Westpac Banking Corp increased its position in Salesforce by 5.2% during the 1st quarter. Westpac Banking Corp now owns 10,535 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $2,827,000 after purchasing an additional 521 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.43% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other Salesforce news, CEO Marc Benioff sold 2,250 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, July 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $259.67, for a total transaction of $584,257.50. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 11,955,566 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,104,501,823.22. This trade represents a 0.02% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Srinivas Tallapragada sold 6,697 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $295.00, for a total transaction of $1,975,615.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 41,422 shares in the company, valued at $12,219,490. This represents a 13.92% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 50,979 shares of company stock worth $13,530,369. 3.00% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have weighed in on CRM. Sanford C. Bernstein raised their target price on shares of Salesforce from $243.00 to $255.00 and gave the company an "underperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 29th. Cantor Fitzgerald downgraded Salesforce from an "overweight" rating to a "cautious" rating in a report on Thursday, July 10th. Guggenheim upgraded Salesforce from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, April 21st. Mizuho dropped their target price on Salesforce from $425.00 to $380.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 15th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on Salesforce from $340.00 to $385.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, May 29th. Three 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 given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $348.16.

Salesforce Stock Down 0.6%

NYSE:CRM traded down $1.28 on Tuesday, hitting $231.40. The stock had a trading volume of 13,176,549 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,272,324. The company has a market cap of $221.22 billion, a PE ratio of 36.21, a P/E/G ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 1.37. Salesforce Inc. has a 52 week low of $226.48 and a 52 week high of $369.00. The business's fifty day moving average is $262.23 and its 200 day moving average is $277.72. The company has a quick ratio of 1.07, a current ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14.

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

Salesforce Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 10th. Investors of record on Wednesday, June 18th were given a $0.416 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, June 18th. This represents a $1.66 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.7%. Salesforce's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 25.98%.

About Salesforce

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.