Pacer Advisors Inc. Grows Position in Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Key Points

• Pacer Advisors Inc. significantly increased its stake in Salesforce Inc. by 1,744.0% during the first quarter, owning over 1.8 million shares worth approximately $488 million.
• Salesforce's stock reached $269.11, reflecting a 0.5% increase in midday trading, with a market capitalization of $257.27 billion.
• Analyst ratings for Salesforce show a majority buy sentiment, with a consensus price target of $348.16 and varying ratings from "sell" to "strong buy" from different research firms.

Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM - Free Report) by 1,744.0% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,820,262 shares of the CRM provider's stock after purchasing an additional 1,721,550 shares during the period. Salesforce comprises approximately 1.1% of Pacer Advisors Inc.'s holdings, making the stock its 19th biggest holding. Pacer Advisors Inc. owned 0.19% of Salesforce worth $488,486,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Seven Mile Advisory boosted its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 2.3% in the 4th quarter. Seven Mile Advisory now owns 1,762 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $589,000 after purchasing an additional 39 shares during the last quarter. Liberty One Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 1.2% in the 1st quarter. Liberty One Investment Management LLC now owns 3,165 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $849,000 after purchasing an additional 39 shares during the last quarter. First Command Advisory Services Inc. raised its stake in shares of Salesforce by 7.3% in the 1st quarter. First Command Advisory Services Inc. now owns 572 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $154,000 after acquiring an additional 39 shares during the period. Mendel Money Management raised its stake in shares of Salesforce by 3.6% in the 1st quarter. Mendel Money Management now owns 1,112 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $298,000 after acquiring an additional 39 shares during the period. Finally, Clarity Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Salesforce by 2.3% in the 1st quarter. Clarity Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,760 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $472,000 after acquiring an additional 40 shares during the period. 80.43% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on CRM shares. Jefferies Financial Group cut their target price on shares of Salesforce from $425.00 to $375.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 31st. Citigroup dropped their price target on shares of Salesforce from $320.00 to $295.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 30th. UBS Group set a $404.00 price target on shares of Salesforce and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 18th. JMP Securities reaffirmed a "market outperform" rating and set a $430.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Friday, July 11th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their price target on shares of Salesforce from $243.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock an "underperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 29th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, twenty-seven have given a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Salesforce has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $348.16.

Salesforce Stock Up 0.5%

CRM stock traded up $1.41 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $269.11. The stock had a trading volume of 4,013,320 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,704,325. Salesforce Inc. has a 52-week low of $230.00 and a 52-week high of $369.00. The firm has a market cap of $257.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.43 and a beta of 1.36. The business has a 50-day moving average of $268.07 and a two-hundred day moving average of $284.27. 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 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. Salesforce had a return on equity of 12.94% and a net margin of 16.08%. The firm had revenue of $9.83 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $9.74 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.44 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 7.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Salesforce Inc. will post 7.46 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 10th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, June 18th were issued a $0.416 dividend. This represents a $1.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.62%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, June 18th. Salesforce's dividend payout ratio is 25.98%.

Insider Transactions at Salesforce

In other news, CEO Marc Benioff sold 2,250 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $271.69, for a total value of $611,302.50. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 11,862,457 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,222,910,942.33. This trade represents a 0.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Srinivas Tallapragada sold 6,697 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $295.00, for a total value of $1,975,615.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 41,422 shares in the company, valued at $12,219,490. This trade represents a 13.92% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 33,479 shares of company stock worth $9,091,796. 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.