Alberta Investment Management Corp Sells 1,400 Shares of Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Key Points

• Alberta Investment Management Corp significantly reduced its stake in Salesforce by 60.9%, owning 900 shares valued at approximately $242,000 after selling 1,400 shares in the first quarter.
• Salesforce's recent earnings report highlighted a net income of $2.58 per share, surpassing expectations, and demonstrated a 7.6% year-over-year revenue growth with total revenue of $9.83 billion.
• Salesforce announced a recent dividend of $0.416 per share, contributing to an annualized dividend yield of 0.7% and indicating a dividend payout ratio of approximately 25.98%.

Alberta Investment Management Corp reduced its holdings in Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM - Free Report) by 60.9% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 900 shares of the CRM provider's stock after selling 1,400 shares during the quarter. Alberta Investment Management Corp's holdings in Salesforce were worth $242,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also bought and sold shares of CRM. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. bought a new position in shares of Salesforce in the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. Accredited Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Salesforce in the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Wood Tarver Financial Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Salesforce in the fourth quarter worth about $35,000. Capital A Wealth Management LLC lifted its position 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 worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 90 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC grew 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 purchasing an additional 85 shares during the last quarter. 80.43% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Salesforce

In related news, CEO Marc Benioff sold 2,250 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, July 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $259.67, for a total value of $584,257.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 11,955,566 shares in the company, valued at $3,104,501,823.22. The trade was a 0.02% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Srinivas Tallapragada sold 6,697 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $295.00, for a total value of $1,975,615.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 41,422 shares in the company, valued at $12,219,490. The trade was a 13.92% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 44,229 shares of company stock worth $11,898,691. Corporate insiders own 3.20% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their target price on Salesforce from $243.00 to $255.00 and gave the company an "underperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 29th. JMP Securities reiterated a "market outperform" rating and issued a $430.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Friday, July 11th. Citigroup cut their target price on shares of Salesforce from $320.00 to $295.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 30th. Barclays lowered their price target on shares of Salesforce from $425.00 to $347.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 29th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $400.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Wednesday, May 28th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, twenty-seven have issued a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $348.16.

Salesforce Stock Performance

Shares of CRM traded up $1.38 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $248.87. The stock had a trading volume of 5,827,156 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,073,345. The firm has a market cap of $237.92 billion, a PE ratio of 38.95, a P/E/G ratio of 2.29 and a beta of 1.37. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $265.03 and a 200-day simple moving average of $280.90. Salesforce Inc. has a one year low of $230.00 and a one year high of $369.00. 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 (NYSE:CRM - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly 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 analysts' expectations 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 last year, the company posted $2.44 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate 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. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, June 18th were issued 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 payout ratio is currently 25.98%.

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.