New York State Teachers Retirement System Reduces Stock Holdings in Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

New York State Teachers Retirement System cut its holdings in Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM - Free Report) by 4.4% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 845,460 shares of the CRM provider's stock after selling 39,135 shares during the period. Salesforce accounts for approximately 0.5% of New York State Teachers Retirement System's portfolio, making the stock its 25th biggest holding. New York State Teachers Retirement System owned 0.09% of Salesforce worth $226,888,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Mainstream Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Salesforce by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Mainstream Capital Management LLC now owns 6,409 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $2,143,000 after buying an additional 33 shares during the period. Wulff Hansen & CO. lifted its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 3.5% during the fourth quarter. Wulff Hansen & CO. now owns 1,035 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $346,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares during the period. WR Wealth Planners LLC grew its stake in shares of Salesforce by 9.0% in the fourth quarter. WR Wealth Planners LLC now owns 449 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $150,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares during the last quarter. Seven Mile Advisory grew its stake in shares of Salesforce by 2.3% in the fourth quarter. Seven Mile Advisory now owns 1,762 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $589,000 after purchasing an additional 39 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Kozak & Associates Inc. raised its position in Salesforce by 1.6% during the 1st quarter. Kozak & Associates Inc. now owns 2,571 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $654,000 after purchasing an additional 41 shares during the last quarter. 80.43% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Salesforce Stock Up 0.9%

Salesforce stock traded up $2.37 during trading on Thursday, hitting $271.58. 5,031,804 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,536,749. 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 business's 50 day moving average is $272.06 and its 200 day moving average is $292.92. Salesforce Inc. has a 52 week low of $230.00 and a 52 week high of $369.00. The company has a market capitalization of $259.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 42.50, a PEG ratio of 2.46 and a beta of 1.36.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, May 28th. The CRM provider reported $2.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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%. The business's revenue was up 7.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.44 EPS. Analysts predict that Salesforce Inc. will post 7.46 earnings per share for the current year.

Salesforce Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 10th. Investors of record on Wednesday, June 18th will be given a dividend of $0.416 per share. This represents a $1.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.61%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, June 18th. Salesforce's payout ratio is 25.98%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the company. Stephens reduced their price target on Salesforce from $311.00 to $309.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 30th. Westpark Capital reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $320.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Wednesday, May 28th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Salesforce from $255.00 to $275.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 29th. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price target on shares of Salesforce from $367.00 to $350.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, May 27th. Finally, UBS Group set a $404.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 18th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, twenty-eight have assigned a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $349.08.

Insider Buying and Selling 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 stock was sold at an average price of $262.35, for a total value of $68,473.35. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 12,024 shares in the company, valued at $3,154,496.40. This represents a 2.12% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Marc Benioff sold 2,250 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $272.48, for a total value of $613,080.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 11,862,457 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,232,282,283.36. This represents a 0.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 28,534 shares of company stock valued at $7,609,842 in the last ninety days. 3.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Salesforce 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.