Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM) Shares Sold by HWG Holdings LP

HWG Holdings LP decreased its stake in Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM - Free Report) by 24.6% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 4,269 shares of the CRM provider's stock after selling 1,396 shares during the period. Salesforce makes up 0.5% of HWG Holdings LP's investment portfolio, making the stock its 26th largest holding. HWG Holdings LP's holdings in Salesforce were worth $1,146,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in CRM. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Salesforce in the fourth quarter valued at about $3,599,867,000. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main lifted 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 valued at $1,422,979,000 after purchasing an additional 3,841,521 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted 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 valued at $1,020,194,000 after purchasing an additional 3,789,147 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Salesforce in the fourth quarter valued at about $1,173,564,000. Finally, Invesco Ltd. raised its position in Salesforce by 42.5% during 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 last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.43% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Oscar Munoz bought 3,882 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 3rd. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $257.28 per share, with a total value of $998,760.96. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 11,843 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,046,967.04. This trade represents a 48.76% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider R David Schmaier sold 6,959 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $253.31, for a total transaction of $1,762,784.29. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 36,090 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,141,957.90. The trade was a 16.17% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 24,992 shares of company stock worth $6,704,198 over the last ninety days. 3.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Salesforce Price Performance

CRM opened at $260.79 on Monday. 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 52-week low of $230.00 and a 52-week high of $369.00. The company has a 50 day moving average of $268.51 and a two-hundred day moving average of $296.80. The company has a market cap of $249.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.81, a P/E/G ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 1.38.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 28th. The CRM provider reported $2.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.55 by $0.03. Salesforce had a net margin of 16.08% and a return on equity of 12.94%. The company had revenue of $9.83 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.74 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.44 earnings per share. Salesforce's revenue for the quarter was up 7.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect that Salesforce Inc. will post 7.46 earnings per share for the current year.

Salesforce Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 10th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, June 18th will be paid a dividend of $0.416 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, June 18th. This represents a $1.66 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.64%. Salesforce's dividend payout ratio is currently 25.98%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CRM has been the subject of a number of research reports. Jefferies Financial Group cut their target price on shares of Salesforce from $425.00 to $375.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, March 31st. Bank of America cut their target price on shares of Salesforce from $440.00 to $400.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Westpark Capital restated a "buy" rating and set a $320.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Wednesday, May 28th. Morgan Stanley restated an "overweight" rating and set a $404.00 target price (up previously from $393.00) on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Thursday, May 29th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald restated an "overweight" rating and set a $325.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Friday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, twenty-eight have given a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Salesforce presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $349.08.

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.

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