Scotia Capital Inc. boosted its holdings in Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM - Free Report) by 5.0% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 175,169 shares of the CRM provider's stock after purchasing an additional 8,374 shares during the quarter. Scotia Capital Inc.'s holdings in Salesforce were worth $47,008,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.
Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CRM. Brighton Jones LLC increased its position in shares of Salesforce by 13.7% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 25,668 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $8,582,000 after purchasing an additional 3,102 shares during the period. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Salesforce by 12.6% in the 4th quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 1,827 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $611,000 after purchasing an additional 205 shares during the last quarter. PAX Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in Salesforce during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $501,000. Landscape Capital Management L.L.C. acquired a new position in Salesforce in the fourth quarter worth approximately $2,012,000. Finally, Smith Moore & CO. lifted its position in shares of Salesforce by 10.8% during the 4th quarter. Smith Moore & CO. now owns 1,627 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $544,000 after acquiring an additional 159 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.43% of the company's stock.
Salesforce Price Performance
Shares of CRM stock traded up $1.38 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $248.87. The stock had a trading volume of 5,824,169 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,073,268. The company has a current ratio of 1.07, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. Salesforce Inc. has a 12 month low of $230.00 and a 12 month high of $369.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $237.92 billion, a PE ratio of 38.95, a PEG ratio of 2.29 and a beta of 1.37. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $265.03 and its 200 day simple moving average is $280.90.
Salesforce (NYSE:CRM - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 28th. The CRM provider reported $2.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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%. The company's revenue was up 7.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.44 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that Salesforce Inc. will post 7.46 EPS for the current 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. This represents a $1.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, June 18th. Salesforce's dividend payout ratio is presently 25.98%.
Insiders Place Their Bets
In related news, insider Srinivas Tallapragada sold 6,697 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $295.00, for a total value of $1,975,615.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 41,422 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $12,219,490. This represents a 13.92% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Marc Benioff sold 2,250 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $259.67, for a total transaction of $584,257.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 11,955,566 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,104,501,823.22. The trade was a 0.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 44,229 shares of company stock worth $11,898,691. Corporate insiders own 3.20% of the company's stock.
Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth
Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Salesforce from $255.00 to $275.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, May 29th. DA Davidson reiterated an "underperform" rating and set a $200.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Wednesday, May 28th. Northland Securities decreased their target price on Salesforce from $423.00 to $396.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 29th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $340.00 to $385.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 29th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reissued a "buy" rating and set a $400.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a research 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 given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Salesforce presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $348.16.
Check Out Our Latest Analysis on CRM
About Salesforce
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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.
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