Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM) Shares Purchased by Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH

Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH increased its holdings in shares of Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM - Free Report) by 1.0% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,186,473 shares of the CRM provider's stock after purchasing an additional 12,037 shares during the period. Salesforce makes up 0.6% of Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH's holdings, making the stock its 22nd biggest position. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH owned approximately 0.12% of Salesforce worth $318,402,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Brighton Jones LLC grew its position in Salesforce by 13.7% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 25,668 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $8,582,000 after buying an additional 3,102 shares during the period. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC grew its position in Salesforce by 12.6% during the fourth quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 1,827 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $611,000 after buying an additional 205 shares during the period. Sciencast Management LP acquired a new stake in Salesforce during the fourth quarter valued at $262,000. Guardian Partners Inc. acquired a new stake in Salesforce during the fourth quarter valued at $230,000. Finally, Crowley Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Salesforce during the fourth quarter valued at $67,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.43% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Salesforce

In other Salesforce news, insider Srinivas Tallapragada sold 6,697 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $295.00, for a total value of $1,975,615.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 41,422 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $12,219,490. This represents a 13.92% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Marc Benioff sold 2,250 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 11,862,457 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,222,910,942.33. This represents a 0.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 31,229 shares of company stock valued at $8,492,036. Insiders own 3.20% of the company's stock.

Salesforce Trading Up 0.2%

CRM stock traded up $0.40 during trading on Thursday, reaching $267.62. 4,169,404 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 7,158,013. 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 business has a 50 day moving average price of $268.96 and a 200-day moving average price of $285.09. Salesforce Inc. has a 1 year low of $230.00 and a 1 year high of $369.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $255.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.88, a P/E/G ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 1.36.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM - Get Free Report) last issued its 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 the consensus estimate of $9.74 billion. Salesforce had a net margin of 16.08% and a return on equity of 12.94%. Salesforce's quarterly revenue was up 7.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.44 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict 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. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, June 18th were given a $0.416 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, June 18th. This represents a $1.66 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.62%. Salesforce's dividend payout ratio is presently 25.98%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently commented on CRM. Canaccord Genuity Group dropped their price target on shares of Salesforce from $400.00 to $350.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, May 28th. Westpark Capital reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $320.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Wednesday, May 28th. Citigroup dropped their target price on shares of Salesforce from $320.00 to $295.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 30th. Oppenheimer reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $370.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Tuesday, June 10th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Salesforce from $255.00 to $275.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 29th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, twenty-seven have assigned a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $348.16.

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.