Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM) Stock Position Reduced by Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC

Key Points

• Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC reduced its stake in Salesforce Inc. by 76.6% in the first quarter, selling over 1.2 million shares and leaving it with 390,942 shares valued at approximately $104.9 million.
• During the same period, several institutional investors significantly increased their positions in Salesforce, with NUVEEN LLC acquiring a new stake worth about $2 billion and GAMMA Investing LLC increasing its holdings by over 30,000%.
• Salesforce reported an earnings per share (EPS) of $2.58, exceeding analysts' expectations, while its quarterly revenue increased by 7.6% year-over-year to $9.83 billion.

Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC trimmed its position in Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM - Free Report) by 76.6% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 390,942 shares of the CRM provider's stock after selling 1,276,395 shares during the period. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC's holdings in Salesforce were worth $104,913,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. acquired a new stake in shares of Salesforce during the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Accredited Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Salesforce during the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. Capital A Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in Salesforce by 450.0% during the 1st quarter. Capital A Wealth Management LLC now owns 110 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 90 shares during the period. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC boosted its holdings 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 buying an additional 85 shares during the period. Finally, Abound Financial LLC acquired a new position in Salesforce during the 1st quarter valued at about $31,000. 80.43% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Salesforce Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:CRM traded up $9.41 during trading on Friday, reaching $242.78. The company had a trading volume of 12,936,592 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,984,759. The firm has a market capitalization of $232.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.12 and a beta of 1.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a current ratio of 1.07 and a quick ratio of 1.07. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $261.05 and its 200 day moving average price is $276.65. Salesforce Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $226.48 and a fifty-two week high of $369.00.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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. The firm had revenue of $9.83 billion for 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%. Salesforce's quarterly revenue was up 7.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.44 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Salesforce Inc. will post 7.46 EPS for the current year.

Salesforce Cuts Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 10th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, June 18th were given a $0.416 dividend. 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 is currently 25.98%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Marc Benioff sold 2,250 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $234.64, for a total value of $527,940.00. Following the completion of 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 can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders sold 46,532 shares of company stock valued at $12,082,694 in the last quarter. 3.00% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on CRM. Northland Securities cut their price target on shares of Salesforce from $423.00 to $396.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 29th. Cantor Fitzgerald cut shares of Salesforce from an "overweight" rating to a "cautious" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $425.00 to $347.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 29th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on shares of Salesforce from $340.00 to $385.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, May 29th. Finally, DA Davidson raised shares of Salesforce from an "underperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $225.00 target price for the company in a report on Friday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating, twenty-seven have assigned a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $347.50.

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.