Raymond James Financial Inc. Purchases 232,372 Shares of Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Key Points

• Raymond James Financial Inc. has increased its stake in Salesforce Inc. by purchasing an additional 232,372 shares, bringing its total ownership to 3,742,570 shares, valued at approximately $1 billion.
• Salesforce's management has seen insider activity, with CEO Marc Benioff selling 2,250 shares recently, while 80.43% of the company's stock is currently held by institutional investors.
• Wall Street analysts show varied opinions, with consensus rating for Salesforce being "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $347.50, following multiple rating adjustments from different research firms.

Raymond James Financial Inc. boosted its position in Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM - Free Report) by 6.6% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 3,742,570 shares of the CRM provider's stock after purchasing an additional 232,372 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. owned about 0.39% of Salesforce worth $1,004,356,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. AIA Group Ltd increased its stake in shares of Salesforce by 8.0% in the 1st quarter. AIA Group Ltd now owns 32,885 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $8,825,000 after purchasing an additional 2,436 shares in the last quarter. Notis McConarty Edward grew its holdings in Salesforce by 71.6% during the first quarter. Notis McConarty Edward now owns 3,844 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $1,032,000 after purchasing an additional 1,604 shares during the period. Leith Wheeler Investment Counsel Ltd. increased its position in Salesforce by 43.0% in the first quarter. Leith Wheeler Investment Counsel Ltd. now owns 104,834 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $28,133,000 after buying an additional 31,537 shares in the last quarter. Alecta Tjanstepension Omsesidigt raised its stake in shares of Salesforce by 121.9% in the first quarter. Alecta Tjanstepension Omsesidigt now owns 355,000 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $95,222,000 after buying an additional 195,000 shares during the period. Finally, Delaney Dennis R lifted its position in shares of Salesforce by 66.1% during the 1st quarter. Delaney Dennis R now owns 5,694 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $1,528,000 after buying an additional 2,266 shares in the last quarter. 80.43% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Salesforce

In other news, CEO Marc Benioff sold 2,250 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $234.64, for a total value of $527,940.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 11,911,571 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,794,931,019.44. This represents a 0.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders sold 46,532 shares of company stock worth $12,082,694 in the last ninety days. 3.00% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently issued reports on CRM. Cantor Fitzgerald lowered shares of Salesforce from an "overweight" rating to a "cautious" rating in a report on Thursday, July 10th. JMP Securities reissued a "market outperform" rating and issued a $430.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Friday, July 11th. Piper Sandler lifted their target price on shares of Salesforce from $315.00 to $335.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 28th. Guggenheim raised shares of Salesforce from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, April 21st. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated a "sector perform" rating and issued a $275.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Monday, July 14th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating, twenty-seven have assigned a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Salesforce currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $347.50.

Salesforce Price Performance

CRM stock opened at $242.78 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $232.10 billion, a PE ratio of 37.99, a P/E/G ratio of 2.12 and a beta of 1.37. Salesforce Inc. has a 12 month low of $226.48 and a 12 month high of $369.00. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $260.41 and a 200 day moving average price of $275.84. The company has a current ratio of 1.07, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, May 28th. The CRM provider reported $2.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.55 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $9.83 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.74 billion. Salesforce had a return on equity of 12.94% and a net margin of 16.08%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 7.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.44 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate 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. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, June 18th were given a dividend of $0.416 per share. This represents a $1.66 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, June 18th. Salesforce's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 25.98%.

About Salesforce

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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