Seaview Investment Managers LLC Purchases 1,939 Shares of Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Key Points

• Seaview Investment Managers LLC increased its stake in Salesforce Inc. by 6.4% during the first quarter, acquiring an additional 1,939 shares to bring its total to 32,241 shares, valued at approximately $8.65 million.
• Salesforce reported $2.58 earnings per share for the last quarter, surpassing analysts' expectations of $2.55, alongside a revenue of $9.83 billion compared to forecasts of $9.74 billion.
• The company has raised its dividend payout to $0.416 per share, translating to an annualized dividend yield of 0.7% and a payout ratio of 25.98%.

Seaview Investment Managers LLC raised its holdings in shares of Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM - Free Report) by 6.4% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 32,241 shares of the CRM provider's stock after acquiring an additional 1,939 shares during the period. Salesforce comprises approximately 2.7% of Seaview Investment Managers LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 26th biggest holding. Seaview Investment Managers LLC's holdings in Salesforce were worth $8,652,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in CRM. Trivium Point Advisory LLC boosted its holdings in Salesforce by 2.5% during the 1st quarter. Trivium Point Advisory LLC now owns 12,701 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $3,408,000 after acquiring an additional 313 shares during the period. Inspire Trust Co. N.A. boosted its stake in shares of Salesforce by 63.6% during the first quarter. Inspire Trust Co. N.A. now owns 9,000 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $2,415,000 after purchasing an additional 3,500 shares during the period. OneAscent Investment Solutions LLC bought a new position in shares of Salesforce in the first quarter worth approximately $492,000. Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc. increased its stake in shares of Salesforce by 119.1% in the first quarter. Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc. now owns 23,452 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $6,294,000 after buying an additional 12,746 shares during the period. Finally, Harfst & Associates Inc. raised its holdings in Salesforce by 1.7% during the 1st quarter. Harfst & Associates Inc. now owns 7,716 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $2,071,000 after buying an additional 127 shares during the last quarter. 80.43% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Salesforce Stock Up 2.4%

CRM stock opened at $237.14 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $226.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.11, a P/E/G ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 1.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a current ratio of 1.07. The business's 50-day moving average is $261.72 and its two-hundred day moving average is $277.44. Salesforce Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $226.48 and a fifty-two week high of $369.00.

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

Salesforce Cuts Dividend

The business also recently disclosed 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 (DPR) is 25.98%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have issued reports on CRM. JMP Securities restated a "market outperform" rating and issued a $430.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Friday, July 11th. Barclays cut their target price on Salesforce from $425.00 to $347.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 29th. Mizuho dropped their price objective on Salesforce from $425.00 to $380.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 15th. Citigroup cut 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, Westpark Capital restated a "buy" rating and issued a $320.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a report on Wednesday, May 28th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, twenty-seven have issued a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $346.84.

Insider Activity at Salesforce

In related news, CEO Marc Benioff sold 2,250 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $260.30, for a total value of $585,675.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 11,955,566 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,112,033,829.80. This represents a 0.02% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders sold a total of 44,282 shares of company stock valued at $11,554,754 over the last 90 days. 3.00% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

About Salesforce

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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