Parnassus Investments LLC cut its stake in Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM - Free Report) by 22.5% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,501,600 shares of the CRM provider's stock after selling 726,004 shares during the quarter. Salesforce comprises about 1.6% of Parnassus Investments LLC's holdings, making the stock its 28th biggest holding. Parnassus Investments LLC owned about 0.26% of Salesforce worth $671,329,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Nuveen LLC bought a new stake in Salesforce during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $2,039,196,000. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main boosted its position in Salesforce by 926.4% during the 4th quarter. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main now owns 4,256,211 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $1,422,979,000 after acquiring an additional 3,841,521 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in Salesforce by 30,456.9% during the 1st 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. Longview Partners Guernsey LTD bought a new stake in Salesforce during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $467,944,000. Finally, Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its position in Salesforce by 1,744.0% during the 1st 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. 80.43% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.
Insiders Place Their Bets
In related news, CEO Marc Benioff sold 2,250 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $257.02, for a total value of $578,295.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 11,911,571 shares in the company, valued at $3,061,511,978.42. The trade was a 0.02% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 59,327 shares of company stock valued at $15,201,738. 3.00% of the stock is owned by insiders.
Wall Street Analyst Weigh In
Several analysts have weighed in on CRM shares. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $400.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Wednesday, May 28th. Erste Group Bank cut Salesforce from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, June 5th. Oppenheimer dropped their price target on Salesforce from $370.00 to $315.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday. Sanford C. Bernstein boosted their price target on Salesforce from $243.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock an "underperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 29th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price target on Salesforce from $375.00 to $325.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, August 13th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-five have assigned a Buy rating, ten have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Salesforce presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $340.43.
Check Out Our Latest Stock Analysis on Salesforce
Salesforce Price Performance
Shares of NYSE CRM opened at $254.79 on Friday. Salesforce Inc. has a twelve month low of $226.48 and a twelve month high of $369.00. The firm has a market cap of $243.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.87, a PEG ratio of 2.27 and a beta of 1.37. The company has a 50 day moving average of $257.43 and a 200 day moving average of $270.14. 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 (NYSE:CRM - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 28th. The CRM provider reported $2.58 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.55 by $0.03. Salesforce had a net margin of 16.08% and a return on equity of 12.94%. The company had revenue of $9.83 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.74 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.44 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 7.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that Salesforce Inc. will post 7.46 EPS for the current fiscal year.
Salesforce Cuts Dividend
The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 10th. Investors 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 0.7%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, June 18th. Salesforce's payout ratio is presently 25.98%.
Salesforce Profile
(
Free Report)
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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