Northern Trust Corp Lowers Position in Salesforce Inc. $CRM

Key Points

• Northern Trust Corp reduced its stake in Salesforce Inc. by 2.4%, now holding approximately 10.96 million shares valued at about $2.94 billion, making it the 29th largest position in their portfolio.
• Salesforce reported earnings of $2.58 per share for the last quarter, exceeding analyst estimates and reflecting a 7.6% year-over-year revenue growth of $9.83 billion.
• Several institutional investors have significantly increased their positions in Salesforce, with 80.43% of the stock now owned by hedge funds and institutional investors, highlighting growing confidence in the company.

Northern Trust Corp cut its stake in Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM - Free Report) by 2.4% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 10,955,876 shares of the CRM provider's stock after selling 269,051 shares during the quarter. Salesforce accounts for about 0.4% of Northern Trust Corp's portfolio, making the stock its 29th biggest position. Northern Trust Corp owned approximately 1.14% of Salesforce worth $2,940,119,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of CRM. Nuveen LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Salesforce in the first quarter worth approximately $2,039,196,000. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main raised its stake in shares of Salesforce by 926.4% in the fourth quarter. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main now owns 4,256,211 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $1,422,979,000 after purchasing an additional 3,841,521 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 30,456.9% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,801,588 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $1,020,194,000 after acquiring an additional 3,789,147 shares in the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 1,744.0% in the first quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 1,820,262 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $488,486,000 after acquiring an additional 1,721,550 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 23.2% in the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 8,938,536 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $2,988,422,000 after acquiring an additional 1,683,233 shares in the last quarter. 80.43% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Salesforce Trading Up 4.0%

NYSE:CRM opened at $242.78 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $232.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.99, a P/E/G ratio of 2.20 and a beta of 1.37. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $260.41 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $274.82. Salesforce Inc. has a 1 year low of $226.48 and a 1 year high of $369.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a current ratio of 1.07 and a quick ratio of 1.07.

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, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.55 by $0.03. Salesforce had a return on equity of 12.94% and a net margin of 16.08%. The company had revenue of $9.83 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.74 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.44 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 7.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts expect 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 given a $0.416 dividend. This represents a $1.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, June 18th. Salesforce's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 25.98%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Marc Benioff sold 2,250 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $234.64, for a total value of $527,940.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 11,911,571 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,794,931,019.44. This trade represents a 0.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders sold a total of 46,532 shares of company stock valued at $12,082,694 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 3.00% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on CRM shares. Piper Sandler upped their target price on Salesforce from $315.00 to $335.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 28th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their target price on Salesforce from $375.00 to $325.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, August 13th. BMO Capital Markets reduced their target price on Salesforce from $350.00 to $335.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 10th. Citigroup reduced their target price on Salesforce from $320.00 to $295.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 30th. Finally, JMP Securities reaffirmed a "market outperform" rating and issued a $430.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a report on Friday, July 11th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating, twenty-seven have given a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Salesforce has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $347.50.

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.

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