Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM) Shares Sold by Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA

Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA reduced its stake in Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM - Free Report) by 2.4% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 6,437,841 shares of the CRM provider's stock after selling 155,454 shares during the quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA owned approximately 0.67% of Salesforce worth $1,727,659,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of CRM. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. acquired a new position in Salesforce in the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. Accredited Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Salesforce in the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Abound Financial LLC purchased a new position in shares of Salesforce during the 1st quarter worth approximately $31,000. Wood Tarver Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in Salesforce in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Finally, VSM Wealth Advisory LLC purchased a new stake in Salesforce in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $45,000. 80.43% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Salesforce

In other Salesforce news, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 261 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, June 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $262.35, for a total transaction of $68,473.35. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 12,024 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,154,496.40. This represents a 2.12% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Marc Benioff sold 2,250 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $260.30, for a total transaction of $585,675.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 11,955,566 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,112,033,829.80. The trade was a 0.02% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 39,784 shares of company stock worth $10,614,470 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 3.20% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. UBS Group set a $404.00 price objective on Salesforce and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 18th. Westpark Capital reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $320.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Wednesday, May 28th. Piper Sandler increased their price target on shares of Salesforce from $315.00 to $335.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 28th. Canaccord Genuity Group dropped their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $400.00 to $350.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, May 28th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reduced their target price on shares of Salesforce from $425.00 to $375.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, March 31st. Three 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 given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Salesforce has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $348.16.

Salesforce Stock Performance

Shares of CRM stock traded down $2.04 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $257.64. The stock had a trading volume of 5,190,971 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,551,062. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a current ratio of 1.07 and a quick ratio of 1.07. The firm has a market capitalization of $246.31 billion, a PE ratio of 40.32, a PEG ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 1.36. The stock's 50 day moving average is $271.51 and its 200 day moving average is $287.73. Salesforce Inc. has a twelve month low of $230.00 and a twelve month high of $369.00.

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

Salesforce Cuts Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 10th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, June 18th were paid a dividend of $0.416 per share. This represents a $1.66 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.65%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, June 18th. Salesforce's dividend payout ratio 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.