Smithbridge Asset Management Inc. DE Acquires New Stake in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Smithbridge Asset Management Inc. DE bought a new position in shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 20,148 shares of the CRM provider's stock, valued at approximately $5,407,000.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Salesforce in the fourth quarter valued at about $3,599,867,000. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main lifted its position in Salesforce by 926.4% during 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% during 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. bought a new stake in Salesforce during the fourth quarter worth about $1,173,564,000. Finally, Invesco Ltd. lifted its position in Salesforce by 42.5% during 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.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CRM has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Loop Capital cut their target price on Salesforce from $330.00 to $300.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Citigroup dropped their price objective on Salesforce from $320.00 to $295.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 30th. Scotiabank reduced their price objective on Salesforce from $400.00 to $345.00 and set a "sector outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 17th. Needham & Company LLC reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $400.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a report on Wednesday, May 28th. Finally, Oppenheimer reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $370.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Tuesday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating, twenty-seven have given a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $346.34.

Salesforce Stock Down 3.2%

Salesforce stock traded down $8.66 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $258.25. The stock had a trading volume of 7,647,008 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,545,951. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $267.80 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $300.72. Salesforce, Inc. has a 12 month low of $227.77 and a 12 month high of $369.00. The company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. The company has a market capitalization of $246.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 42.48, a PEG ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 1.38.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 28th. The CRM provider reported $2.58 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.55 by $0.03. Salesforce had a return on equity of 12.34% and a net margin of 15.96%. The firm had revenue of $9.83 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.74 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.44 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 7.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts expect 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 will be paid on Thursday, July 10th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, June 18th will be issued a $0.416 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, June 18th. This represents a $1.66 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.64%. Salesforce's dividend payout ratio is currently 25.98%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Amy E. Weaver sold 6,221 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $277.37, for a total value of $1,725,518.77. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 46,750 shares in the company, valued at $12,967,047.50. This represents a 11.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Parker Harris sold 3,273 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $284.58, for a total value of $931,430.34. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 125,146 shares in the company, valued at $35,614,048.68. The trade was a 2.55% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 40,332 shares of company stock worth $11,024,802 over the last quarter. Insiders own 3.20% of the company's stock.

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.