Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich cut its stake in shares of Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM - Free Report) by 9.3% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 285,329 shares of the CRM provider's stock after selling 29,358 shares during the period. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich's holdings in Salesforce were worth $76,571,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.
Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Heartland Bank & Trust Co raised its position in shares of Salesforce by 117.2% during the 1st quarter. Heartland Bank & Trust Co now owns 5,981 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $1,605,000 after acquiring an additional 3,227 shares in the last quarter. Elwood Capital Partners LP bought a new position in shares of Salesforce in the fourth quarter worth $1,337,000. Strategic Blueprint LLC raised its position in Salesforce by 13.5% in the first quarter. Strategic Blueprint LLC now owns 23,828 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $6,394,000 after acquiring an additional 2,837 shares in the last quarter. Czech National Bank raised its position in Salesforce by 6.0% in the first quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 219,808 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $58,988,000 after acquiring an additional 12,528 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Libra Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Salesforce during the first quarter valued at $328,000. 80.43% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.
Analysts Set New Price Targets
Several research analysts have weighed in on the company. Canaccord Genuity Group dropped their target price on Salesforce from $400.00 to $350.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, May 28th. Stephens dropped their target price on Salesforce from $311.00 to $309.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 30th. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and issued a $404.00 target price (up from $393.00) on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Thursday, May 29th. Citigroup dropped their target price on Salesforce from $320.00 to $295.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 30th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reissued a "sector perform" rating and set a $275.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a report on Monday, July 14th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, twenty-seven have issued a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $348.16.
Check Out Our Latest Stock Report on Salesforce
Insiders Place Their Bets
In other news, CEO Marc Benioff sold 2,250 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owned 11,955,566 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,112,033,829.80. This represents a 0.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider R David Schmaier sold 4,586 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $253.66, for a total value of $1,163,284.76. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 33,273 shares of the company's stock, valued at $8,440,029.18. This represents a 12.11% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 36,069 shares of company stock worth $9,698,893. Corporate insiders own 3.20% of the company's stock.
Salesforce Price Performance
CRM traded up $1.28 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $263.56. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,611,997 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,545,142. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $270.45 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $285.85. 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 Inc. has a 12 month low of $230.00 and a 12 month high of $369.00. The stock has a market capitalization of $251.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.38 and a beta of 1.36.
Salesforce (NYSE:CRM - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, May 28th. The CRM provider reported $2.58 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.55 by $0.03. The company 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 business's revenue for the quarter was up 7.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.44 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Salesforce Inc. will post 7.46 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.
Salesforce Cuts Dividend
The firm 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.63%. Salesforce's dividend payout ratio is presently 25.98%.
Salesforce Company Profile
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Free Report)
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.
See Also
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