Dimensional Fund Advisors LP Purchases 312,454 Shares of Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Key Points

• Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in Salesforce by 8.1%, acquiring an additional 312,454 shares, bringing its total ownership to 4,182,422 shares valued at approximately $1.12 billion.
• Salesforce reported better-than-expected earnings with an EPS of $2.58, beating estimates by $0.03, and revenue of $9.83 billion for the quarter, up 7.6% year-over-year.
• The stock price of Salesforce has declined by 1.5%, with a current trading price of $233.37, amid a backdrop of mixed analyst ratings reflecting a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy."

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM - Free Report) by 8.1% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 4,182,422 shares of the CRM provider's stock after purchasing an additional 312,454 shares during the quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP owned about 0.44% of Salesforce worth $1,122,349,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of CRM. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. acquired a new position in shares of Salesforce during the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. Accredited Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Salesforce during the fourth quarter valued at $27,000. Capital A Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Salesforce by 450.0% during the first quarter. Capital A Wealth Management LLC now owns 110 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 90 shares during the period. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC lifted its stake in shares of Salesforce by 314.8% during the first quarter. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 112 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 85 shares during the period. Finally, Abound Financial LLC acquired a new position in shares of Salesforce during the first quarter valued at $31,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.43% of the company's stock.

Salesforce Price Performance

NYSE CRM traded up $9.41 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $242.78. The company had a trading volume of 12,936,592 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,984,759. The company has a market capitalization of $232.10 billion, a PE ratio of 37.99, a P/E/G ratio of 2.12 and a beta of 1.37. The company has a current ratio of 1.07, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $260.41 and a 200-day moving average price of $275.84. Salesforce Inc. has a twelve month low of $226.48 and a twelve month 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, beating the consensus estimate of $2.55 by $0.03. The firm 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 company's quarterly revenue was up 7.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.44 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate 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 issued a dividend of $0.416 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, June 18th. This represents a $1.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.7%. Salesforce's payout ratio is 25.98%.

Insider Activity at Salesforce

In other news, CEO Marc Benioff sold 2,250 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, July 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $260.30, for a total transaction of $585,675.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 11,955,566 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,112,033,829.80. The trade was a 0.02% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 46,532 shares of company stock worth $12,082,694. 3.00% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have weighed in on CRM shares. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued a "sector perform" rating and issued a $275.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Monday, July 14th. DA Davidson raised Salesforce from an "underperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $225.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Friday. UBS Group set a $404.00 target price on Salesforce and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 18th. Oppenheimer reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $370.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Tuesday, June 10th. Finally, Erste Group Bank downgraded Salesforce from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, June 5th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating, twenty-seven have given a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Salesforce has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $347.50.

Salesforce 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.