Aurora Private Wealth Inc. Purchases 202,664 Shares of Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Aurora Private Wealth Inc. raised its stake in Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM - Free Report) by 20,871.7% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 203,635 shares of the CRM provider's stock after acquiring an additional 202,664 shares during the quarter. Salesforce makes up approximately 1.5% of Aurora Private Wealth Inc.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 9th largest position. Aurora Private Wealth Inc.'s holdings in Salesforce were worth $54,647,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Salesforce during the fourth quarter worth about $3,599,867,000. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main grew its holdings in Salesforce by 926.4% in the fourth quarter. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main now owns 4,256,211 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $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 first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,801,588 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $1,020,194,000 after acquiring an additional 3,789,147 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in Salesforce in the 4th quarter valued at about $1,173,564,000. Finally, Invesco Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 42.5% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 7,791,015 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $2,604,770,000 after purchasing an additional 2,325,156 shares in the last quarter. 80.43% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Salesforce Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE CRM traded up $2.74 during trading on Thursday, reaching $270.50. 6,668,207 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 6,518,108. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $269.39 and a 200-day simple moving average of $295.75. Salesforce Inc. has a 52-week low of $230.00 and a 52-week high of $369.00. The stock has a market capitalization of $258.60 billion, a PE ratio of 42.33, a P/E/G ratio of 2.43 and a beta of 1.38. The company has a quick ratio of 1.07, a current ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, May 28th. The CRM provider reported $2.58 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.55 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $9.83 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.74 billion. Salesforce had a net margin of 16.08% and a return on equity of 12.94%. The firm's revenue was up 7.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.44 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Salesforce Inc. will post 7.46 earnings per share for the current year.

Salesforce Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 10th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, June 18th will be paid a dividend of $0.416 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, June 18th. This represents a $1.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.62%. Salesforce's dividend payout ratio is currently 25.98%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 1,256 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $253.31, for a total transaction of $318,157.36. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 12,826 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,248,954.06. This represents a 8.92% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Oscar Munoz bought 3,882 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 3rd. The shares were bought at an average cost of $257.28 per share, with a total value of $998,760.96. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 11,843 shares in the company, valued at $3,046,967.04. This represents a 48.76% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders sold 26,284 shares of company stock valued at $6,996,762 in the last quarter. 3.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have commented on CRM shares. Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $425.00 to $347.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 29th. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and issued a $325.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a report on Thursday. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price objective on Salesforce from $425.00 to $375.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Salesforce from $255.00 to $275.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 29th. Finally, Oppenheimer reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $370.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Tuesday, June 10th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, twenty-eight have assigned a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $349.08.

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.