TCTC Holdings LLC Raises Holdings in Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Key Points

• TCTC Holdings LLC increased its stake in Salesforce Inc. by 0.9%, owning 103,506 shares valued at approximately $27.78 million, making it the firm's 27th largest holding.
• Salesforce has received mixed analyst ratings, with a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a target price averaging $348.16, while Canaccord Genuity has set a new target price at $350.00.
• CEO Marc Benioff sold 2,250 shares of Salesforce at an average price of $269.38, reducing his ownership by 0.02% but retaining over 11.9 million shares valued at approximately $3.2 billion.

TCTC Holdings LLC lifted its stake in Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM - Free Report) by 0.9% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 103,506 shares of the CRM provider's stock after purchasing an additional 953 shares during the quarter. Salesforce comprises approximately 1.0% of TCTC Holdings LLC's holdings, making the stock its 27th largest position. TCTC Holdings LLC's holdings in Salesforce were worth $27,777,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. bought a new position in Salesforce in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Accredited Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Salesforce in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Capital A Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in Salesforce by 450.0% in the 1st quarter. Capital A Wealth Management LLC now owns 110 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 90 shares in the last quarter. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC lifted its position in Salesforce by 314.8% in the 1st quarter. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 112 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 85 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Abound Financial LLC bought a new position in Salesforce in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $31,000. 80.43% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Salesforce Trading Down 3.0%

Shares of NYSE:CRM traded down $7.76 during trading on Friday, reaching $250.57. The company's stock had a trading volume of 5,353,094 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,085,196. The company has a current ratio of 1.07, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. Salesforce Inc. has a 12 month low of $230.00 and a 12 month high of $369.00. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $266.48 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $282.69. The stock has a market capitalization of $239.54 billion, a PE ratio of 39.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 1.36.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 28th. The CRM provider reported $2.58 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.55 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $9.83 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.74 billion. Salesforce had a net margin of 16.08% and a return on equity of 12.94%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 7.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.44 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Salesforce Inc. will post 7.46 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 10th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, June 18th were paid a dividend of $0.416 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, June 18th. This represents a $1.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.7%. Salesforce's dividend payout ratio is currently 25.98%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Marc Benioff sold 2,250 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $259.67, for a total transaction of $584,257.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 11,955,566 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,104,501,823.22. The trade was a 0.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Srinivas Tallapragada sold 6,697 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $295.00, for a total transaction of $1,975,615.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 41,422 shares of the company's stock, valued at $12,219,490. This represents a 13.92% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 39,729 shares of company stock worth $10,763,881. Insiders own 3.20% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently weighed in on CRM. Stephens lowered their price target on Salesforce from $311.00 to $309.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 30th. Westpark Capital restated a "buy" rating and issued a $320.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Wednesday, May 28th. Morgan Stanley restated an "overweight" rating and issued a $404.00 price target (up from $393.00) on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Thursday, May 29th. JMP Securities restated a "market outperform" rating and issued a $430.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Friday, July 11th. Finally, UBS Group set a $404.00 price target on Salesforce and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 18th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, twenty-seven have given a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Salesforce has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $348.16.

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.