Strategic Blueprint LLC Has $6.39 Million Stock Position in Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Strategic Blueprint LLC lifted its stake in shares of Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM - Free Report) by 13.5% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 23,828 shares of the CRM provider's stock after purchasing an additional 2,837 shares during the period. Strategic Blueprint LLC's holdings in Salesforce were worth $6,394,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 19,955,353 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $6,656,078,000 after buying an additional 175,035 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp grew its stake in Salesforce by 18.3% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 11,224,927 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $3,752,830,000 after purchasing an additional 1,736,667 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Salesforce in the fourth quarter valued at about $3,599,867,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its stake in Salesforce by 23.2% in the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 8,938,536 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $2,988,422,000 after purchasing an additional 1,683,233 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its stake in Salesforce by 7.5% in the fourth 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 valued at $2,894,673,000 after purchasing an additional 602,445 shares in the last quarter. 80.43% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have commented on the company. Needham & Company LLC restated a "buy" rating and issued a $400.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Wednesday, May 28th. Oppenheimer restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $370.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Tuesday, June 10th. Scotiabank reduced their price target on Salesforce from $400.00 to $345.00 and set a "sector outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, March 17th. Guggenheim raised Salesforce from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, April 21st. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reduced their price target on Salesforce from $367.00 to $350.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, May 27th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, twenty-eight have assigned a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $349.08.

Salesforce Price Performance

Shares of CRM stock traded down $2.41 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $269.74. The company had a trading volume of 6,249,121 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,542,885. The firm has a market capitalization of $257.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.21, a PEG ratio of 2.47 and a beta of 1.36. Salesforce Inc. has a 12 month low of $230.00 and a 12 month high of $369.00. The firm's fifty day moving average is $272.36 and its 200 day moving average is $290.63. 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 (NYSE:CRM - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 28th. The CRM provider reported $2.58 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.55 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $9.83 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.74 billion. Salesforce had a return on equity of 12.94% and a net margin of 16.08%. Salesforce's revenue for the quarter was up 7.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.44 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Salesforce Inc. will post 7.46 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 10th. Investors of record on Wednesday, June 18th will be given a dividend of $0.416 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, June 18th. This represents a $1.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.62%. Salesforce's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 25.98%.

Insider Transactions at Salesforce

In other Salesforce news, insider Srinivas Tallapragada sold 6,697 shares of the 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 transaction, the insider directly owned 41,422 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,219,490. This trade represents a 13.92% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Marc Benioff sold 2,250 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $272.48, for a total value of $613,080.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 11,862,457 shares in the company, valued at $3,232,282,283.36. The trade was a 0.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 30,784 shares of company stock worth $8,223,890. Corporate insiders own 3.20% of the company's stock.

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.