Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM) Shares Acquired by North Star Asset Management Inc.

Key Points

• North Star Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in Salesforce Inc. by 10.3% during the 1st quarter, acquiring 3,918 shares, bringing their total to 42,035 shares valued at approximately $11.28 million.
• Salesforce recently reported quarterly earnings of $2.58 EPS, exceeding analysts' expectations with revenue of $9.83 billion, reflecting a year-over-year growth of 7.6%.
• Institutional investors hold around 80.43% of Salesforce's stock, indicating robust interest from significant financial entities as several firms adjusted their stakes in the company.

North Star Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM - Free Report) by 10.3% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 42,035 shares of the CRM provider's stock after acquiring an additional 3,918 shares during the period. North Star Asset Management Inc.'s holdings in Salesforce were worth $11,281,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Delaney Dennis R boosted its holdings in Salesforce by 66.1% in the 1st quarter. Delaney Dennis R now owns 5,694 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $1,528,000 after buying an additional 2,266 shares during the period. Journey Strategic Wealth LLC boosted its holdings in Salesforce by 34.5% in the 1st quarter. Journey Strategic Wealth LLC now owns 4,948 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $1,328,000 after buying an additional 1,270 shares during the period. ARK Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Salesforce in the 1st quarter worth $20,179,000. Strategic Blueprint LLC boosted its holdings in Salesforce by 13.5% in the 1st quarter. Strategic Blueprint LLC now owns 23,828 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $6,394,000 after buying an additional 2,837 shares during the period. Finally, Notis McConarty Edward boosted its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 71.6% during the 1st quarter. Notis McConarty Edward now owns 3,844 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $1,032,000 after purchasing an additional 1,604 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.43% of the company's stock.

Salesforce Stock Down 1.0%

CRM stock traded down $2.65 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $264.74. 3,913,122 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,561,630. The firm has a market capitalization of $253.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 41.43, a PEG ratio of 2.43 and a beta of 1.36. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $266.97 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $283.11. 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 Inc. has a 1 year low of $230.00 and a 1 year high of $369.00.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 company had revenue of $9.83 billion for 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%. Salesforce's revenue was up 7.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.44 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Salesforce Inc. will post 7.46 EPS for the current year.

Salesforce Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 10th. Investors of record on Wednesday, June 18th were issued a dividend of $0.416 per share. This represents a $1.66 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.63%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, June 18th. Salesforce's payout ratio is 25.98%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Salesforce

In other Salesforce news, CEO Marc Benioff sold 2,250 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction 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 of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,222,910,942.33. The trade was a 0.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed 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 completion of 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. Insiders sold 37,979 shares of company stock worth $10,303,399 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 3.20% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have commented on the stock. UBS Group set a $404.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, June 18th. Needham & Company LLC reissued a "buy" rating and set a $400.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a report on Wednesday, May 28th. Citigroup dropped their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $320.00 to $295.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 30th. Stephens dropped their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $311.00 to $309.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 30th. Finally, Westpark Capital reissued a "buy" rating and set a $320.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a report on Wednesday, May 28th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, twenty-seven have issued a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $348.16.

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.