Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM) Shares Sold by Maryland State Retirement & Pension System

Key Points

• The Maryland State Retirement & Pension System reduced its stake in Salesforce Inc. by 13.4%, owning 43,217 shares valued at $11.6 million following the sale.
• Several equity analysts have rated Salesforce positively, with 27 buy ratings and a consensus target price of $348.16.
• Salesforce posted a quarterly revenue increase of 7.6% year-over-year, earning $2.58 per share and exceeding estimates by $0.03.

Maryland State Retirement & Pension System lessened its position in Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM - Free Report) by 13.4% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 43,217 shares of the CRM provider's stock after selling 6,659 shares during the period. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System's holdings in Salesforce were worth $11,598,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Coign Capital Advisors LLC grew its stake in Salesforce by 1.7% in the 1st quarter. Coign Capital Advisors LLC now owns 2,183 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $586,000 after acquiring an additional 37 shares in the last quarter. Liberty One Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 1.2% in the 1st quarter. Liberty One Investment Management LLC now owns 3,165 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $849,000 after purchasing an additional 39 shares in the last quarter. First Command Advisory Services Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 7.3% in the 1st quarter. First Command Advisory Services Inc. now owns 572 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $154,000 after purchasing an additional 39 shares in the last quarter. Mendel Money Management raised its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 3.6% in the 1st quarter. Mendel Money Management now owns 1,112 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $298,000 after purchasing an additional 39 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Clarity Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 2.3% in the 1st quarter. Clarity Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,760 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $472,000 after purchasing an additional 40 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.43% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Salesforce

In other news, CEO Marc Benioff sold 2,250 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $248.40, for a total value of $558,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 11,911,571 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,958,834,236.40. This represents a 0.02% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 46,479 shares of company stock valued at $12,457,591. Corporate insiders own 3.20% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Guggenheim upgraded shares of Salesforce from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, April 21st. Canaccord Genuity Group reduced their price target on shares of Salesforce from $400.00 to $350.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, May 28th. Oppenheimer restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $370.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a report on Tuesday, June 10th. Citigroup lowered their price target on shares of Salesforce from $320.00 to $295.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 30th. Finally, Stephens lowered their price target on shares of Salesforce from $311.00 to $309.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 30th. Three 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 assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Salesforce currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $348.16.

Salesforce Price Performance

CRM stock traded down $0.79 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $240.09. The company's stock had a trading volume of 8,807,591 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,971,969. The company's 50 day moving average is $263.47 and its two-hundred day moving average is $279.50. Salesforce Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $230.00 and a fifty-two week 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. The stock has a market cap of $229.53 billion, a PE ratio of 37.57, a P/E/G ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 1.37.

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 for the quarter, beating 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 business had revenue of $9.83 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $9.74 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.44 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 7.6% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that Salesforce Inc. will post 7.46 EPS for the current year.

Salesforce Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 10th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, June 18th were paid a $0.416 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, June 18th. This represents a $1.66 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.7%. Salesforce's dividend payout ratio is 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.