KPP Advisory Services LLC Buys 2,983 Shares of Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

KPP Advisory Services LLC grew its holdings in shares of Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM - Free Report) by 40.4% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 10,358 shares of the CRM provider's stock after buying an additional 2,983 shares during the period. KPP Advisory Services LLC's holdings in Salesforce were worth $2,780,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Salesforce in the fourth quarter worth approximately $3,599,867,000. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main lifted its position in 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 worth $1,422,979,000 after purchasing an additional 3,841,521 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in Salesforce by 30,456.9% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,801,588 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $1,020,194,000 after purchasing an additional 3,789,147 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in Salesforce in the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,173,564,000. Finally, Invesco Ltd. lifted its position in Salesforce by 42.5% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 7,791,015 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $2,604,770,000 after purchasing an additional 2,325,156 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 80.43% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on CRM shares. UBS Group set a $404.00 target price on Salesforce and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 18th. Oppenheimer restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $370.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Tuesday, June 10th. BMO Capital Markets cut their target price on Salesforce from $367.00 to $350.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, May 27th. Barclays dropped their price target on Salesforce from $425.00 to $347.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 29th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and issued a $404.00 price target (up previously from $393.00) on shares of Salesforce in a report on Thursday, May 29th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, twenty-eight have issued a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Salesforce presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $349.08.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Srinivas Tallapragada sold 6,697 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 41,422 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $12,219,490. This trade represents a 13.92% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider R David Schmaier sold 6,959 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $253.31, for a total value of $1,762,784.29. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 36,090 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,141,957.90. This represents a 16.17% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 26,284 shares of company stock valued at $6,996,762 over the last three months. 3.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Salesforce Stock Up 0.7%

Shares of NYSE:CRM traded up $1.98 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $272.72. 21,736,713 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,553,599. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a current ratio of 1.07. Salesforce Inc. has a 52-week low of $230.00 and a 52-week high of $369.00. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $270.38 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $294.66. The company has a market capitalization of $260.72 billion, a PE ratio of 42.68, a P/E/G ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 1.38.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM - Get Free Report) last announced 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 return on equity of 12.94% and a net margin of 16.08%. The business had revenue of $9.83 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.74 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.44 earnings per share. Salesforce's quarterly revenue was up 7.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that Salesforce Inc. will post 7.46 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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 issued a dividend of $0.416 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, June 18th. This represents a $1.66 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.61%. Salesforce's dividend payout ratio is 25.98%.

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.