Salesforce Inc. $CRM Shares Purchased by Canada Pension Plan Investment Board

Key Points

• The Canada Pension Plan Investment Board increased its stake in Salesforce Inc. by 36.6%, owning 1,904,116 shares valued at approximately $510.99 million as of the last reporting period.
• Salesforce's CEO Marc Benioff sold 2,250 shares in July, decreasing his holdings by 0.02%, with total ownership still representing over $3 billion.
• Salesforce's recent quarterly earnings report showed $2.58 EPS and a 7.6% year-over-year revenue increase, beating analysts' expectations.

Canada Pension Plan Investment Board grew its holdings in shares of Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM - Free Report) by 36.6% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 1,904,116 shares of the CRM provider's stock after buying an additional 510,669 shares during the quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board owned 0.20% of Salesforce worth $510,989,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. purchased a new stake in Salesforce during the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Accredited Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Salesforce in the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. Capital A Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of Salesforce by 450.0% in the 1st quarter. Capital A Wealth Management LLC now owns 110 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 90 shares during the period. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC increased its position in shares of Salesforce by 314.8% in the 1st quarter. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 112 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 85 shares during the period. Finally, Abound Financial LLC acquired a new position in shares of Salesforce in the 1st quarter valued at $31,000. Institutional investors own 80.43% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on CRM shares. Stephens cut their price target on Salesforce from $311.00 to $309.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 30th. Canaccord Genuity Group dropped their target price on Salesforce from $400.00 to $350.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, May 28th. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an "overweight" rating and set a $325.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Thursday. UBS Group dropped their target price on Salesforce from $300.00 to $260.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, August 18th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC restated a "buy" rating and set a $400.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Wednesday, May 28th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-four have given a Buy rating, ten have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $341.47.

Salesforce Price Performance

CRM traded up $1.84 during trading on Friday, reaching $256.37. The company's stock had a trading volume of 7,354,032 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,243,193. The company has a quick ratio of 1.07, a current ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $257.34 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $269.27. Salesforce Inc. has a 1 year low of $226.48 and a 1 year high of $369.00. The company has a market cap of $245.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.12, a PEG ratio of 2.33 and a beta of 1.37.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results 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 business had revenue of $9.83 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.74 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.44 EPS. The business's revenue was up 7.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts anticipate that Salesforce Inc. will post 7.46 EPS for the current year.

Salesforce Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared 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 0.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, June 18th. Salesforce's payout ratio is presently 25.98%.

Insider Activity at Salesforce

In other news, CEO Marc Benioff sold 2,250 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $248.56, for a total transaction of $559,260.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 11,911,571 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,960,740,087.76. The trade was a 0.02% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 59,327 shares of company stock worth $15,201,738. 3.00% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.