TCW Group Inc. Buys 18,642 Shares of Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Key Points

• TCW Group Inc. increased its stake in Salesforce Inc. by 6.6%, owning a total of 301,608 shares worth approximately $80.94 million after purchasing additional shares in the first quarter.
• Several institutional investors, including DZ BANK AG and GAMMA Investing LLC, have significantly boosted their positions in Salesforce, reflecting strong interest as these firms nearly doubled or increased their stake dramatically during the past quarter.
• Salesforce reported earnings of $2.58 per share for the last quarter, beating estimates, with revenue rising 7.6% year-over-year to $9.83 billion.

TCW Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM - Free Report) by 6.6% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 301,608 shares of the CRM provider's stock after buying an additional 18,642 shares during the period. TCW Group Inc.'s holdings in Salesforce were worth $80,940,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Semus Wealth Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Salesforce by 3.7% during the 1st quarter. Semus Wealth Partners LLC now owns 1,857 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $498,000 after buying an additional 66 shares during the last quarter. Keyvantage Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in Salesforce in the 1st quarter valued at about $216,000. one8zero8 LLC lifted its stake in Salesforce by 2.4% in the 1st quarter. one8zero8 LLC now owns 1,748 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $469,000 after purchasing an additional 41 shares during the last quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank lifted its stake in Salesforce by 17.3% in the 1st quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 830,760 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $222,943,000 after purchasing an additional 122,500 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cornerstone Advisory LLC lifted its stake in Salesforce by 11.2% in the 1st quarter. Cornerstone Advisory LLC now owns 1,143 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $312,000 after purchasing an additional 115 shares during the last quarter. 80.43% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Marc Benioff sold 2,250 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $271.69, for a total transaction of $611,302.50. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 11,862,457 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,222,910,942.33. The trade was a 0.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Srinivas Tallapragada sold 6,697 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $295.00, for a total transaction of $1,975,615.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 41,422 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,219,490. This trade represents a 13.92% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 33,479 shares of company stock worth $9,091,796. 3.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on CRM shares. Jefferies Financial Group cut their target price on shares of Salesforce from $425.00 to $375.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, March 31st. Morgan Stanley reiterated an "overweight" rating and issued a $404.00 target price (up from $393.00) on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Thursday, May 29th. Erste Group Bank downgraded shares of Salesforce from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, June 5th. UBS Group set a $404.00 target price on shares of Salesforce and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 18th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group cut their target price on shares of Salesforce from $400.00 to $350.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, May 28th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, twenty-seven have issued a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $348.16.

Salesforce Trading Up 0.5%

Shares of NYSE:CRM traded up $1.41 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $269.11. 4,013,320 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,818,028. The firm has a market capitalization of $257.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.11, a PEG ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.36. The business's fifty day moving average price is $268.07 and its 200-day moving average price is $283.68. 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 Inc. has a twelve month low of $230.00 and a twelve month high of $369.00.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM - Get Free Report) last issued 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 company had revenue of $9.83 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.74 billion. Salesforce had a net margin of 16.08% and a return on equity of 12.94%. Salesforce's revenue was up 7.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.44 earnings per share. 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 declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 10th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, June 18th were issued a dividend of $0.416 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, June 18th. This represents a $1.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.62%. Salesforce's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 25.98%.

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.