Virtu Financial LLC Has $1.81 Million Stock Position in Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Key Points

• Virtu Financial LLC reduced its stake in Salesforce Inc. by 67.5%, selling 13,992 shares in the first quarter, bringing its total holdings to 6,726 shares, valued at approximately $1.8 million.
• Salesforce's most recent earnings report revealed an EPS of $2.58, slightly beating expectations, and a revenue increase of 7.6% year-over-year.
• Wall Street analysts have varied predictions for Salesforce's stock price, with target prices ranging from $315 to $430, and an overall consensus rating of "Moderate Buy".

Virtu Financial LLC trimmed its position in Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM - Free Report) by 67.5% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 6,726 shares of the CRM provider's stock after selling 13,992 shares during the quarter. Virtu Financial LLC's holdings in Salesforce were worth $1,805,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of CRM. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main grew its stake in Salesforce by 926.4% in the 4th quarter. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main now owns 4,256,211 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $1,422,979,000 after buying an additional 3,841,521 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in shares of Salesforce by 30,456.9% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,801,588 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $1,020,194,000 after purchasing an additional 3,789,147 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp grew its position in shares of Salesforce by 18.3% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 11,224,927 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $3,752,830,000 after purchasing an additional 1,736,667 shares in the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. grew its position in shares of Salesforce by 1,744.0% during the 1st quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 1,820,262 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $488,486,000 after purchasing an additional 1,721,550 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its position in shares of Salesforce by 23.2% during the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 8,938,536 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $2,988,422,000 after purchasing an additional 1,683,233 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.43% of the company's stock.

Salesforce Trading Down 0.6%

NYSE CRM traded down $1.28 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $231.40. 13,176,549 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,272,324. Salesforce Inc. has a one year low of $226.48 and a one year high of $369.00. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $262.89 and a 200-day simple moving average of $278.04. The stock has a market cap of $221.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.21, a P/E/G ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 1.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a current ratio of 1.07 and a quick ratio of 1.07.

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

Salesforce Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 10th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, June 18th were issued a $0.416 dividend. This represents a $1.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, June 18th. Salesforce's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 25.98%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have issued reports on CRM. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on shares of Salesforce from $340.00 to $385.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 29th. Westpark Capital restated a "buy" rating and set a $320.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Wednesday, May 28th. DA Davidson restated an "underperform" rating and set a $200.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Wednesday, May 28th. Canaccord Genuity Group decreased their target price 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. Finally, JMP Securities reiterated a "market outperform" rating and set a $430.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Friday, July 11th. Three equities research 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 currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $348.16.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Salesforce news, CEO Marc Benioff sold 2,250 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, August 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $236.45, for a total value of $532,012.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 11,911,571 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,816,490,962.95. This trade represents a 0.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders have sold 50,979 shares of company stock valued at $13,530,369 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 3.00% 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.