Salesforce Inc. $CRM Shares Acquired by Gerber Kawasaki Wealth & Investment Management

Key Points

• Gerber Kawasaki Wealth & Investment Management increased its stake in Salesforce Inc. by 59.5%, bringing its holdings to 3,700 shares worth approximately $993,000.
• Salesforce reported a $2.58 EPS for its last quarter, exceeding estimates, with total revenue hitting $9.83 billion, a 7.6% increase from the previous year.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.416 per share, yielding about 0.7% annually, with a payout ratio of 25.98%.

Gerber Kawasaki Wealth & Investment Management boosted its holdings in shares of Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM - Free Report) by 59.5% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 3,700 shares of the CRM provider's stock after purchasing an additional 1,380 shares during the period. Gerber Kawasaki Wealth & Investment Management's holdings in Salesforce were worth $993,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. increased its position in shares of Salesforce by 123.4% in the first quarter. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. now owns 12,169 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $3,266,000 after acquiring an additional 6,721 shares in the last quarter. Next Century Growth Investors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Salesforce in the first quarter worth approximately $1,527,000. OMERS ADMINISTRATION Corp increased its position in shares of Salesforce by 457.1% in the first quarter. OMERS ADMINISTRATION Corp now owns 507,301 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $136,139,000 after acquiring an additional 416,247 shares in the last quarter. Cascade Investment Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Salesforce by 14.9% in the first quarter. Cascade Investment Group Inc. now owns 3,303 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $886,000 after acquiring an additional 428 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wealth Preservation Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Salesforce in the first quarter worth approximately $1,703,000. 80.43% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Salesforce Trading Up 1.9%

Shares of NYSE CRM opened at $254.79 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $243.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.87, a PEG ratio of 2.27 and a beta of 1.37. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $257.43 and a 200 day simple moving average of $270.14. Salesforce Inc. has a 52 week low of $226.48 and a 52 week high of $369.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a current ratio of 1.07.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 28th. The CRM provider reported $2.58 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 analysts' expectations of $9.74 billion. Salesforce had a return on equity of 12.94% and a net margin of 16.08%.The firm's quarterly revenue was up 7.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.44 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Salesforce Inc. will post 7.46 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 10th. Investors of record on Wednesday, June 18th were paid a $0.416 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, June 18th. This represents a $1.66 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.7%. Salesforce's payout ratio is presently 25.98%.

Insider Activity at Salesforce

In related news, CEO Marc Benioff sold 2,250 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $248.56, for a total value of $559,260.00. Following the completion of 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 sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Over the last three months, insiders sold 59,327 shares of company stock valued at $15,201,738. Insiders own 3.00% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently weighed in on CRM. BMO Capital Markets dropped their target price on shares of Salesforce from $350.00 to $335.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. Erste Group Bank downgraded shares of Salesforce from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, June 5th. Bank of America dropped their target price on shares of Salesforce from $350.00 to $325.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price target on shares of Salesforce from $375.00 to $325.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, August 13th. Finally, Mizuho reduced their price target on shares of Salesforce from $425.00 to $380.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 15th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-five have given a Buy rating, ten have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Salesforce currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $340.43.

Salesforce Company 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.

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