State of Wyoming Buys 1,175 Shares of Salesforce Inc. $CRM

Key Points

• The State of Wyoming increased its holdings in Salesforce Inc. (CRM) by 47.3%, acquiring an additional 1,175 shares, bringing its total shares to 3,661 valued at approximately $982,000.
• Several institutional investors, including Vanguard Group Inc. and Goldman Sachs Group Inc., also boosted their positions in Salesforce, with Vanguard owning nearly 88 million shares worth roughly $23.6 billion.
• Salesforce's stock has received mixed ratings from analysts, with a consensus target price of $340.43 and an average rating of "Moderate Buy."

State of Wyoming raised its position in Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM - Free Report) by 47.3% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 3,661 shares of the CRM provider's stock after buying an additional 1,175 shares during the period. State of Wyoming's holdings in Salesforce were worth $982,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in Salesforce by 1.6% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 87,913,628 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $23,592,501,000 after purchasing an additional 1,383,942 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Salesforce by 5.1% during the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 9,014,148 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $2,419,037,000 after buying an additional 437,435 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its position in shares of Salesforce by 7.5% during the 4th quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 8,658,132 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $2,894,673,000 after buying an additional 602,445 shares during the period. Nuveen Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Salesforce by 1.3% during the fourth quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC now owns 8,598,989 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $2,874,900,000 after buying an additional 114,278 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nuveen LLC acquired a new position in Salesforce in the first quarter valued at approximately $2,039,196,000. 80.43% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have commented on CRM. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and set a $404.00 target price (up previously from $393.00) on shares of Salesforce in a report on Thursday, May 29th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price objective on Salesforce from $375.00 to $325.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, August 13th. Needham & Company LLC reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $400.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Wednesday, May 28th. Stephens reduced their target price on Salesforce from $311.00 to $309.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 30th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Salesforce from $255.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 29th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-five have assigned a Buy rating, ten have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $340.43.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Marc Benioff sold 2,250 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $248.56, for a total value of $559,260.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 11,911,571 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,960,740,087.76. This represents a 0.02% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 59,327 shares of company stock valued at $15,201,738. Insiders own 3.00% of the company's stock.

Salesforce Trading Up 1.9%

NYSE:CRM opened at $254.79 on Friday. Salesforce Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $226.48 and a fifty-two week high of $369.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a current ratio of 1.07 and a quick ratio of 1.07. The stock has a market capitalization of $243.58 billion, a PE ratio of 39.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.27 and a beta of 1.37. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $257.43 and its 200-day simple moving average is $270.14.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, May 28th. The CRM provider reported $2.58 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 firm had revenue of $9.83 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.74 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.44 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up 7.6% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that Salesforce Inc. will post 7.46 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Cuts Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 10th. Investors of record on Wednesday, June 18th were issued a dividend of $0.416 per share. This represents a $1.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, June 18th. Salesforce's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.

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