Trexquant Investment LP Purchases Shares of 75,231 Salesforce Inc. $CRM

Key Points

• Trexquant Investment LP has acquired 75,231 shares of Salesforce Inc. (NYSE: CRM), worth approximately $20.19 million, during the first quarter of the year.
• Salesforce reported strong quarterly earnings with an EPS of $2.58, exceeding analysts' estimates, and a revenue of $9.83 billion, which is a 7.6% year-over-year increase.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.416 per share, representing a dividend yield of 0.7% and a payout ratio of 25.98%.

Trexquant Investment LP purchased a new stake in Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 75,231 shares of the CRM provider's stock, valued at approximately $20,189,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its position in shares of Salesforce by 13.7% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 25,668 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $8,582,000 after purchasing an additional 3,102 shares in the last quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Salesforce by 12.6% during the 4th quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 1,827 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $611,000 after purchasing an additional 205 shares in the last quarter. Quarry LP bought a new stake in shares of Salesforce during the 4th quarter valued at about $82,000. AdvisorShares Investments LLC bought a new stake in shares of Salesforce during the 4th quarter valued at about $490,000. Finally, Voleon Capital Management LP bought a new stake in shares of Salesforce during the 4th quarter valued at about $1,116,000. Institutional investors own 80.43% of the company's stock.

Salesforce Stock Performance

Shares of CRM opened at $249.91 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 1.07, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. The company has a market capitalization of $238.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.11, a PEG ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 1.37. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $257.51 and a 200 day moving average of $270.63. Salesforce Inc. has a 12 month low of $226.48 and a 12 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, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.55 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $9.83 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.74 billion. Salesforce had a return on equity of 12.94% and a net margin of 16.08%.Salesforce's revenue was up 7.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.44 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Salesforce Inc. will post 7.46 earnings per share for the current year.

Salesforce Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 10th. Investors of record on Wednesday, June 18th were given 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 of this dividend was Wednesday, June 18th. Salesforce's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 25.98%.

Insider Activity at Salesforce

In other Salesforce news, CEO Marc Benioff sold 2,250 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, August 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $247.57, for a total transaction of $557,032.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 11,911,571 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,948,947,632.47. This represents 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 this link. Insiders sold 57,077 shares of company stock worth $14,642,478 over the last three months. Company insiders own 3.00% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently commented on CRM. Erste Group Bank lowered Salesforce from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, June 5th. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $400.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Wednesday, May 28th. DA Davidson raised Salesforce from an "underperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $225.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 15th. Bank of America dropped their price target on Salesforce from $350.00 to $325.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, BMO Capital Markets dropped their price target on Salesforce from $350.00 to $335.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-five have given a Buy rating, ten have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $340.54.

About Salesforce

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.