Generation Capital Management LLC Purchases 1,105 Shares of Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Key Points

• Generation Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Salesforce by 21.1% during the 1st quarter, owning 6,343 shares valued at approximately $1.7 million.
• Salesforce reported a 7.6% year-over-year increase in quarterly revenue, totaling $9.83 billion, and EPS of $2.58, exceeding analyst estimates.
• Salesforce's stock currently has an average analyst rating of "Moderate Buy" with a consensus target price of $348.16, despite experiencing a 2.9% decline recently.

Generation Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM - Free Report) by 21.1% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 6,343 shares of the CRM provider's stock after buying an additional 1,105 shares during the quarter. Salesforce comprises 1.5% of Generation Capital Management LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 21st largest position. Generation Capital Management LLC's holdings in Salesforce were worth $1,702,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in CRM. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main grew its stake in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 3,841,521 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in shares of 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 during the period. Invesco Ltd. grew its stake 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 worth $2,604,770,000 after acquiring an additional 2,325,156 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp lifted its holdings in Salesforce by 18.3% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 11,224,927 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $3,752,830,000 after acquiring an additional 1,736,667 shares during the period. Finally, Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in Salesforce by 1,744.0% in the first quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 1,820,262 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $488,486,000 after acquiring an additional 1,721,550 shares during the period. 80.43% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Salesforce

In other news, CEO Marc Benioff sold 2,250 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction on Friday, July 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $259.67, for a total transaction of $584,257.50. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 11,955,566 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,104,501,823.22. This trade represents a 0.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Srinivas Tallapragada sold 6,697 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $295.00, for a total transaction of $1,975,615.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 41,422 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,219,490. This represents a 13.92% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 41,979 shares of company stock worth $11,330,746. Company insiders own 3.20% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CRM has been the subject of several analyst reports. Barclays reduced their target price on shares of Salesforce from $425.00 to $347.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 29th. Northland Securities cut their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $423.00 to $396.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 29th. Sanford C. Bernstein raised their price target on Salesforce from $243.00 to $255.00 and gave the company an "underperform" rating in a report on Thursday, May 29th. DA Davidson restated an "underperform" rating and set a $200.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a report on Wednesday, May 28th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC restated a "buy" rating and set a $400.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a report on Wednesday, May 28th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, twenty-seven have given a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Salesforce presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $348.16.

Salesforce Price Performance

Shares of NYSE CRM traded up $1.47 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $252.21. 4,399,864 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,950,044. The company has a market cap of $241.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.47, a PEG ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 1.37. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $266.04 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $281.65. 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 Inc. has a twelve month low of $230.00 and a twelve month high of $369.00.

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

Salesforce Cuts Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 10th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, June 18th were issued a dividend of $0.416 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, June 18th. This represents a $1.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.7%. Salesforce's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 25.98%.

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.