Zweig DiMenna Associates LLC Sells 2,542 Shares of Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Key Points

• Zweig DiMenna Associates LLC reduced its stake in Salesforce Inc. by 6.4% in Q1, now holding approximately 37,258 shares valued at nearly $10 million.
• Major institutional investors like Norges Bank and DZ BANK AG have significantly increased their positions in Salesforce, with 80.43% of the stock currently owned by institutional holders.
• Salesforce's quarterly earnings report showed an EPS of $2.58, exceeding estimates, along with a revenue increase of 7.6% year-over-year.

Zweig DiMenna Associates LLC cut its holdings in Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM - Free Report) by 6.4% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 37,258 shares of the CRM provider's stock after selling 2,542 shares during the period. Salesforce accounts for approximately 1.6% of Zweig DiMenna Associates LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 23rd biggest holding. Zweig DiMenna Associates LLC's holdings in Salesforce were worth $9,999,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Delaney Dennis R increased its stake in Salesforce by 66.1% during the first quarter. Delaney Dennis R now owns 5,694 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $1,528,000 after acquiring an additional 2,266 shares during the period. Heartland Bank & Trust Co grew its stake in shares of Salesforce by 117.2% in the 1st quarter. Heartland Bank & Trust Co now owns 5,981 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $1,605,000 after purchasing an additional 3,227 shares during the period. Elwood Capital Partners LP bought a new stake in shares of Salesforce in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,337,000. Strategic Blueprint LLC grew 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 valued at $6,394,000 after acquiring an additional 2,837 shares during the period. Finally, Czech National Bank grew 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 valued at $58,988,000 after acquiring an additional 12,528 shares during the period. 80.43% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Salesforce Trading Up 0.5%

Shares of NYSE:CRM traded up $1.41 on Friday, reaching $269.11. 4,013,320 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 6,704,325. The stock has a market capitalization of $257.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 42.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.43 and a beta of 1.36. Salesforce Inc. has a 52 week low of $230.00 and a 52 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 business's 50-day simple moving average is $268.07 and its 200 day simple moving average is $284.27.

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 the consensus estimate of $2.55 by $0.03. Salesforce had a return on equity of 12.94% and a net margin of 16.08%. The company had revenue of $9.83 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.74 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.44 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 7.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Salesforce Inc. will post 7.46 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced 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 was Wednesday, June 18th. This represents a $1.66 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.62%. Salesforce's dividend payout ratio is presently 25.98%.

Insider Activity at Salesforce

In other news, CEO Marc Benioff sold 2,250 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $271.69, for a total value of $611,302.50. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 11,862,457 shares in the company, valued at $3,222,910,942.33. This represents a 0.02% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Srinivas Tallapragada sold 6,697 shares of the firm's 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 completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 41,422 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,219,490. This represents a 13.92% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 33,479 shares of company stock worth $9,091,796 over the last ninety days. 3.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently weighed in on CRM. Guggenheim raised shares of Salesforce from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, April 21st. BMO Capital Markets decreased their target price on Salesforce from $350.00 to $335.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 10th. Cantor Fitzgerald lowered shares of Salesforce from an "overweight" rating to a "cautious" rating in a report on Thursday, July 10th. UBS Group set a $404.00 price target on shares of Salesforce and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 18th. Finally, Oppenheimer reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $370.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Tuesday, June 10th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, twenty-seven have issued a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Salesforce has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $348.16.

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.