KBC Group NV Trims Stock Position in Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

KBC Group NV cut its holdings in shares of Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM - Free Report) by 14.9% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,196,114 shares of the CRM provider's stock after selling 209,887 shares during the period. Salesforce makes up approximately 1.0% of KBC Group NV's holdings, making the stock its 16th biggest position. KBC Group NV owned about 0.12% of Salesforce worth $320,989,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Salesforce by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 19,955,353 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $6,656,078,000 after purchasing an additional 175,035 shares during the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in Salesforce by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 12,453,872 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $4,163,703,000 after acquiring an additional 177,321 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp increased its position in shares of Salesforce by 18.3% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 11,224,927 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $3,752,830,000 after purchasing an additional 1,736,667 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Salesforce in the fourth quarter valued at $3,599,867,000. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 23.2% during the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 8,938,536 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $2,988,422,000 after acquiring an additional 1,683,233 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.43% of the company's stock.

Salesforce Stock Down 0.2%

Shares of CRM traded down $0.44 on Monday, reaching $272.98. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,362,924 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,513,924. The stock has a market capitalization of $260.97 billion, a PE ratio of 42.79, a PEG ratio of 2.48 and a beta of 1.38. Salesforce Inc. has a twelve month low of $230.00 and a twelve month high of $369.00. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $270.38 and a 200-day moving average of $293.80. 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 released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 28th. The CRM provider reported $2.58 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.74 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.44 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 7.6% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts predict that Salesforce Inc. will post 7.46 EPS for the current year.

Salesforce Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 10th. Investors of record on Wednesday, June 18th will be paid a $0.416 dividend. This represents a $1.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.61%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, June 18th. Salesforce's dividend payout ratio is currently 25.98%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on CRM shares. Morgan Stanley reissued an "overweight" rating and issued a $404.00 target price (up from $393.00) on shares of Salesforce in a 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 stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 29th. UBS Group set a $404.00 price target on Salesforce and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 18th. Sanford C. Bernstein raised their price target on Salesforce from $243.00 to $255.00 and gave the company an "underperform" rating in a report on Thursday, May 29th. Finally, Westpark Capital reissued a "buy" rating and set a $320.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a report on Wednesday, May 28th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, twenty-eight have assigned a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $349.08.

Insider Transactions at Salesforce

In other Salesforce news, insider Srinivas Tallapragada sold 6,697 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $295.00, for a total transaction of $1,975,615.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 41,422 shares in the company, valued at $12,219,490. The trade was a 13.92% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 261 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, June 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $262.35, for a total transaction of $68,473.35. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 12,024 shares in the company, valued at $3,154,496.40. The trade was a 2.12% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 26,284 shares of company stock worth $6,996,762 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 3.20% of the company's stock.

Salesforce Company 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.