Nuveen LLC Acquires New Stake in Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Key Points

• Nuveen LLC has acquired a significant position in Salesforce Inc., purchasing approximately 7.6 million shares valued at around $2.04 billion, making Salesforce the firm's 25th largest holding.
• Salesforce reported a quarterly earnings per share of $2.58, exceeding analysts' expectations, with revenue of $9.83 billion, reflecting a 7.6% increase year-over-year.
• Despite positive earnings, Salesforce's stock is currently down 0.3% and analysts have mixed ratings, with 27 buy ratings and three sell ratings from various brokerages.

Nuveen LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 7,598,732 shares of the CRM provider's stock, valued at approximately $2,039,196,000. Salesforce makes up 0.6% of Nuveen LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 25th biggest position. Nuveen LLC owned 0.79% of Salesforce at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Aigen Investment Management LP raised its position in Salesforce by 169.3% during the first quarter. Aigen Investment Management LP now owns 14,610 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $3,921,000 after acquiring an additional 9,185 shares in the last quarter. Scissortail Wealth Management LLC raised its position in Salesforce by 8.1% during the first quarter. Scissortail Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,332 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $357,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Cooper Financial Group raised its position in Salesforce by 10.2% during the first quarter. Cooper Financial Group now owns 7,241 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $1,943,000 after acquiring an additional 668 shares in the last quarter. Strengthening Families & Communities LLC raised its position in Salesforce by 3.0% during the first quarter. Strengthening Families & Communities LLC now owns 6,982 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $1,869,000 after acquiring an additional 201 shares in the last quarter. Finally, King Luther Capital Management Corp raised its position in Salesforce by 12.5% during the first quarter. King Luther Capital Management Corp now owns 287,648 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $77,193,000 after acquiring an additional 31,954 shares in the last quarter. 80.43% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Salesforce news, CEO Marc Benioff sold 2,250 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $248.40, for a total value of $558,900.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 11,911,571 shares in the company, valued at $2,958,834,236.40. 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 is available through the SEC website. Insiders sold a total of 46,479 shares of company stock valued at $12,457,591 in the last quarter. 3.00% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Salesforce Trading Down 0.3%

NYSE CRM traded down $0.79 on Friday, reaching $240.09. 8,807,591 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,062,013. Salesforce Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $230.00 and a fifty-two week high of $369.00. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $229.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.18 and a beta of 1.37. The business's fifty day moving average price is $263.47 and its 200 day moving average price is $278.75.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, May 28th. The CRM provider reported $2.58 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 in the previous year, the business earned $2.44 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 7.6% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that Salesforce Inc. will post 7.46 earnings per share for the current year.

Salesforce Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 10th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, June 18th were given a $0.416 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, June 18th. This represents a $1.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.7%. Salesforce's payout ratio is currently 25.98%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CRM has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Guggenheim raised Salesforce from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, April 21st. Mizuho dropped their price objective on Salesforce from $425.00 to $380.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 15th. Oppenheimer reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $370.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a report on Tuesday, June 10th. Cantor Fitzgerald lowered Salesforce from an "overweight" rating to a "cautious" rating in a report on Thursday, July 10th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets dropped their price objective on Salesforce from $350.00 to $335.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 10th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, twenty-seven have assigned a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Salesforce currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target 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.