Montag A & Associates Inc. lifted its stake in Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM - Free Report) by 395.5% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 11,138 shares of the CRM provider's stock after purchasing an additional 8,890 shares during the period. Montag A & Associates Inc.'s holdings in Salesforce were worth $2,989,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.
Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 175,035 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp raised its position in Salesforce by 18.3% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 11,224,927 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $3,752,830,000 after purchasing an additional 1,736,667 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Salesforce in the 4th quarter worth about $3,599,867,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its position in Salesforce by 23.2% in the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 8,938,536 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $2,988,422,000 after purchasing an additional 1,683,233 shares during the period. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its position in 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 during the period. 80.43% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.
Insider Activity at Salesforce
In other news, CEO Marc Benioff sold 2,250 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $271.69, for a total value of $611,302.50. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 11,862,457 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,222,910,942.33. This represents a 0.02% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Srinivas Tallapragada sold 6,697 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the insider owned 41,422 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,219,490. This represents a 13.92% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 31,229 shares of company stock worth $8,492,036. Company insiders own 3.20% of the company's stock.
Salesforce Stock Performance
CRM traded down $0.95 on Thursday, reaching $266.27. The stock had a trading volume of 1,976,498 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,144,839. The company has a market cap of $254.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 41.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 1.36. The business's 50-day moving average price is $268.96 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $285.09. The company has a current ratio of 1.07, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. Salesforce Inc. has a 12-month low of $230.00 and a 12-month high of $369.00.
Salesforce (NYSE:CRM - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, May 28th. The CRM provider reported $2.58 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.55 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $9.83 billion during 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 company's quarterly revenue was up 7.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.44 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that Salesforce Inc. will post 7.46 earnings per share for the current year.
Salesforce Cuts Dividend
The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 10th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, June 18th were issued a $0.416 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, June 18th. This represents a $1.66 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.62%. Salesforce's dividend payout ratio is currently 25.98%.
Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades
A number of analysts recently weighed in on CRM shares. Mizuho reduced their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $425.00 to $380.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 15th. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and set a $404.00 target price (up from $393.00) on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Thursday, May 29th. Piper Sandler raised their target price 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. Stephens reduced their target price on shares of Salesforce from $311.00 to $309.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 30th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald lowered shares of Salesforce from an "overweight" rating to a "cautious" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, twenty-seven have issued a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $348.16.
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About Salesforce
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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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