Salesforce Inc. $CRM Shares Bought by Magnetar Financial LLC

Key Points

• Magnetar Financial LLC significantly increased its stake in Salesforce Inc., owning 30,310 shares valued at $8.13 million after a 1,492.7% increase during the first quarter.
• Salesforce has a current market cap of $243.58 billion and recently reported earnings of $2.58 per share, exceeding analyst expectations.
• Analysts have varied opinions on Salesforce's stock, with a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $340.43.

Magnetar Financial LLC raised its stake in shares of Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM - Free Report) by 1,492.7% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 30,310 shares of the CRM provider's stock after buying an additional 28,407 shares during the period. Magnetar Financial LLC's holdings in Salesforce were worth $8,134,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. purchased a new stake in shares of Salesforce in the 4th quarter worth $25,000. Accredited Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Salesforce in the 4th quarter worth $27,000. Capital A Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Salesforce by 450.0% in the 1st quarter. Capital A Wealth Management LLC now owns 110 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 90 shares in the last quarter. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC increased its stake in shares of Salesforce by 314.8% in the 1st quarter. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 112 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 85 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Abound Financial LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Salesforce in the 1st quarter worth $31,000. 80.43% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. Sanford C. Bernstein upped their price objective on Salesforce from $243.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock an "underperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 29th. Barclays dropped their target price on shares of Salesforce from $347.00 to $316.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, August 18th. UBS Group dropped their target price on shares of Salesforce from $300.00 to $260.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Monday, August 18th. Mizuho dropped their target price on shares of Salesforce from $425.00 to $380.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 15th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets dropped their target price on shares of Salesforce from $350.00 to $335.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 10th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-four have assigned a Buy rating, ten have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $341.47.

Insider Transactions at Salesforce

In other Salesforce news, CEO Marc Benioff sold 2,250 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $248.56, for a total value of $559,260.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 11,911,571 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,960,740,087.76. This trade represents a 0.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders have sold a total of 59,327 shares of company stock valued at $15,201,738 over the last ninety days. 3.00% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Salesforce Price Performance

Shares of CRM traded up $1.84 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $256.37. 7,354,032 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 8,243,193. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $257.34 and a 200-day moving average of $269.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a current ratio of 1.07. The stock has a market cap of $245.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.12, a PEG ratio of 2.33 and a beta of 1.37. Salesforce Inc. has a 52 week low of $226.48 and a 52 week high of $369.00.

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

Salesforce Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 10th. Investors of record on Wednesday, June 18th were given a $0.416 dividend. This represents a $1.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, June 18th. Salesforce's dividend payout ratio 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.