Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM) Shares Sold by Penserra Capital Management LLC

Penserra Capital Management LLC cut its holdings in shares of Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM - Free Report) by 32.6% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 10,015 shares of the CRM provider's stock after selling 4,834 shares during the period. Penserra Capital Management LLC's holdings in Salesforce were worth $2,686,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Millstone Evans Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Salesforce in the fourth quarter worth approximately $823,000. Heartland Bank & Trust Co lifted its stake in shares of Salesforce by 117.2% during the 1st quarter. Heartland Bank & Trust Co now owns 5,981 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $1,605,000 after buying an additional 3,227 shares in the last quarter. Catalyst Funds Management Pty Ltd purchased a new position in Salesforce in the 4th quarter worth approximately $5,249,000. Elwood Capital Partners LP purchased a new position in shares of Salesforce in the fourth quarter worth $1,337,000. Finally, Strategic Blueprint LLC lifted its stake 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 purchasing an additional 2,837 shares in the last quarter. 80.43% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CRM has been the topic of several recent research reports. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Salesforce from $255.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, May 29th. Macquarie reiterated a "neutral" rating and issued a $320.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Scotiabank reduced their target price on shares of Salesforce from $400.00 to $345.00 and set a "sector outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 17th. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $400.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a report on Wednesday, May 28th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group dropped their target price on Salesforce from $425.00 to $375.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 31st. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, twenty-seven have given a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $348.16.

Insider Activity at Salesforce

In other news, insider Srinivas Tallapragada sold 6,697 shares of the company's 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 transaction, the insider directly owned 41,422 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,219,490. This represents a 13.92% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 1,525 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $253.66, for a total transaction of $386,831.50. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 12,211 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,097,442.26. This trade represents a 11.10% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 35,284 shares of company stock worth $9,444,537. 3.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Salesforce Price Performance

CRM stock traded down $5.74 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $258.23. The stock had a trading volume of 7,004,264 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,540,561. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $272.09 and its 200 day simple moving average is $289.24. 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 company has a market cap of $246.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 1.36. Salesforce Inc. has a 52-week low of $230.00 and a 52-week high of $369.00.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 28th. The CRM provider reported $2.58 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.55 by $0.03. Salesforce had a net margin of 16.08% and a return on equity of 12.94%. The firm had revenue of $9.83 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.74 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.44 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 7.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Salesforce Inc. will post 7.46 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Cuts Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 10th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, June 18th were paid a dividend of $0.416 per share. This represents a $1.66 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.64%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, June 18th. Salesforce's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 25.98%.

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.