Vulcan Value Partners LLC Has $194.20 Million Stock Holdings in Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Key Points

• Vulcan Value Partners LLC reduced its stake in Salesforce by 3.5%, now holding 723,562 shares worth approximately $194.2 million.
• Analysts have varied price targets and ratings for Salesforce, with a consensus price target of $348.16, and the stock currently being rated as a "Moderate Buy."
• Salesforce recently reported earnings of $2.58 per share, surpassing estimates, while revenue increased by 7.6% compared to the previous year, amounting to $9.83 billion.

Vulcan Value Partners LLC lowered its position in shares of Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM - Free Report) by 3.5% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 723,562 shares of the CRM provider's stock after selling 26,004 shares during the quarter. Salesforce makes up approximately 3.6% of Vulcan Value Partners LLC's holdings, making the stock its 11th biggest holding. Vulcan Value Partners LLC owned approximately 0.08% of Salesforce worth $194,200,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Notis McConarty Edward lifted its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 71.6% during the 1st quarter. Notis McConarty Edward now owns 3,844 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $1,032,000 after acquiring an additional 1,604 shares in the last quarter. Alecta Tjanstepension Omsesidigt raised its position in Salesforce by 121.9% in the first quarter. Alecta Tjanstepension Omsesidigt now owns 355,000 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $95,222,000 after purchasing an additional 195,000 shares during the period. Delaney Dennis R raised its position in Salesforce by 66.1% in the first quarter. Delaney Dennis R now owns 5,694 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $1,528,000 after purchasing an additional 2,266 shares during the period. Journey Strategic Wealth LLC raised its position in Salesforce by 34.5% in the first quarter. Journey Strategic Wealth LLC now owns 4,948 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $1,328,000 after purchasing an additional 1,270 shares during the period. Finally, Mathes Company Inc. raised its position in Salesforce by 396.9% in the first quarter. Mathes Company Inc. now owns 12,298 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $3,300,000 after purchasing an additional 9,823 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.43% of the company's stock.

Salesforce Stock Down 2.9%

CRM stock traded down $7.48 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $250.85. The company's stock had a trading volume of 7,643,247 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,567,701. The company has a quick ratio of 1.07, a current ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. The company has a market capitalization of $239.81 billion, a PE ratio of 39.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 1.37. Salesforce Inc. has a 12 month low of $230.00 and a 12 month high of $369.00. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $266.04 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $282.19.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 28th. The CRM provider reported $2.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.55 by $0.03. The business 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%. Salesforce's quarterly revenue was up 7.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.44 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that Salesforce Inc. will post 7.46 earnings per share for the current year.

Salesforce Cuts Dividend

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

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Marc Benioff sold 2,250 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $265.77, for a total transaction of $597,982.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 11,911,571 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,165,738,224.67. This represents a 0.02% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 39,729 shares of company stock worth $10,763,881. 3.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have commented on CRM. Oppenheimer reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $370.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Tuesday, June 10th. Westpark Capital reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $320.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Wednesday, May 28th. Barclays dropped their price target on shares of Salesforce from $425.00 to $347.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 29th. Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their price target on shares of Salesforce from $243.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock an "underperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 29th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $400.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Wednesday, May 28th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, twenty-seven have assigned a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target 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.