QRG Capital Management Inc. Increases Position in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

QRG Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM - Free Report) by 2.6% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 186,200 shares of the CRM provider's stock after purchasing an additional 4,792 shares during the quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc.'s holdings in Salesforce were worth $49,969,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Salesforce during the 4th quarter worth about $3,599,867,000. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main increased its stake in 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 valued at $1,422,979,000 after purchasing an additional 3,841,521 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in Salesforce by 30,456.9% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,801,588 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $1,020,194,000 after purchasing an additional 3,789,147 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Salesforce during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,173,564,000. Finally, Invesco Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 42.5% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 7,791,015 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $2,604,770,000 after buying an additional 2,325,156 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.43% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Salesforce

In other Salesforce news, insider Miguel Milano sold 705 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $279.44, for a total transaction of $197,005.20. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 9,323 shares in the company, valued at $2,605,219.12. The trade was a 7.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider R David Schmaier sold 6,959 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $253.31, for a total value of $1,762,784.29. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 36,090 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $9,141,957.90. This trade represents a 16.17% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 34,111 shares of company stock worth $9,299,283. Company insiders own 3.20% of the company's stock.

Salesforce Trading Up 2.0%

Shares of NYSE CRM traded up $5.23 on Monday, reaching $263.63. 7,173,677 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 6,539,288. The stock has a market capitalization of $252.03 billion, a PE ratio of 43.36, a P/E/G ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 1.38. Salesforce, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $227.77 and a fifty-two week high of $369.00. The company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. The company has a 50 day moving average of $268.09 and a 200 day moving average of $299.72.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 28th. The CRM provider reported $2.58 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.55 by $0.03. Salesforce had a net margin of 15.96% and a return on equity of 12.34%. The firm had revenue of $9.83 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.74 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.44 earnings per share. Salesforce's revenue for the quarter was up 7.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.46 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 10th. Investors of record on Wednesday, June 18th will be given a dividend of $0.416 per share. This represents a $1.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.63%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, June 18th. Salesforce's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 25.98%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on shares of Salesforce from $340.00 to $385.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 29th. Morgan Stanley reissued an "overweight" rating and issued a $404.00 target price (up from $393.00) on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Thursday, May 29th. UBS Group reduced their price objective on Salesforce from $320.00 to $300.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, May 27th. Canaccord Genuity Group decreased their price objective on Salesforce from $400.00 to $350.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, May 28th. Finally, Scotiabank cut their target price on shares of Salesforce from $400.00 to $345.00 and set a "sector outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, March 17th. 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 assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $346.34.

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.