Vident Advisory LLC Has $45.11 Million Holdings in Salesforce Inc. $CRM

Key Points

• Vident Advisory LLC increased its stake in Salesforce Inc. by 37.3%, now holding 168,099 shares valued at approximately $45.1 million.
• Over 80% of Salesforce's stock is owned by hedge funds and institutional investors, indicating strong institutional support.
• Salesforce recently cut its dividend, with a yield of 0.7%, while analysts' target prices for the stock range from $225 to $375.

Vident Advisory LLC increased its stake in shares of Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM - Free Report) by 37.3% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 168,099 shares of the CRM provider's stock after buying an additional 45,672 shares during the period. Salesforce accounts for about 0.7% of Vident Advisory LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 28th largest holding. Vident Advisory LLC's holdings in Salesforce were worth $45,111,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of CRM. Nuveen LLC bought a new stake in Salesforce in the 1st quarter valued at about $2,039,196,000. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main boosted its holdings in Salesforce by 926.4% in the 4th 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 period. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in Salesforce by 30,456.9% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,801,588 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $1,020,194,000 after purchasing an additional 3,789,147 shares during the period. Longview Partners Guernsey LTD bought a new stake in Salesforce in the 1st quarter valued at about $467,944,000. Finally, Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in Salesforce by 1,744.0% in the 1st quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 1,820,262 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $488,486,000 after purchasing an additional 1,721,550 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 80.43% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have issued reports on CRM. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued a "sector perform" rating and issued a $275.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a report on Monday, August 18th. Westpark Capital reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $320.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Wednesday, May 28th. Canaccord Genuity Group decreased their target price on shares of Salesforce from $400.00 to $350.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, May 28th. Bank of America cut their price target on shares of Salesforce from $350.00 to $325.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, August 26th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reiterated an "overweight" rating and set a $404.00 price target (up previously from $393.00) on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Thursday, May 29th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-four have assigned a Buy rating, ten have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $341.47.

Salesforce Price Performance

CRM stock traded up $1.84 during trading on Friday, reaching $256.37. 7,354,032 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 8,243,193. The company has a 50-day moving average of $257.34 and a two-hundred day moving average of $269.27. The company has a market capitalization of $245.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.12, a P/E/G ratio of 2.33 and a beta of 1.37. Salesforce Inc. has a twelve month low of $226.48 and a twelve month high of $369.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a current ratio of 1.07 and a quick ratio of 1.07.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 28th. The CRM provider reported $2.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.74 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $2.44 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 7.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts predict that Salesforce Inc. will post 7.46 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 10th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, June 18th were paid a dividend of $0.416 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, June 18th. This represents a $1.66 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.6%. Salesforce's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 25.98%.

Insider Activity at Salesforce

In related news, CEO Marc Benioff sold 2,250 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $257.02, for a total value of $578,295.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 11,911,571 shares in the company, valued at $3,061,511,978.42. 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 available at this hyperlink. Insiders have sold a total of 59,327 shares of company stock worth $15,201,738 in the last quarter. 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.