Westfield Capital Management Co. LP Has $210.11 Million Stock Position in Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Key Points

• Westfield Capital Management Co. LP increased its stake in Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 31.1%, owning 782,929 shares valued at approximately $210 million, making it the firm’s 19th largest investment.
• Salesforce's stock opened at $250.85, with a market capitalization of $239.81 billion, but has seen a decline of 2.9% recently.
• Several analysts have lowered their price targets for Salesforce, with Barclays setting a new objective at $347.00, while maintaining an "overweight" rating on the stock.

Westfield Capital Management Co. LP lifted its position in Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM - Free Report) by 31.1% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 782,929 shares of the CRM provider's stock after purchasing an additional 185,826 shares during the quarter. Salesforce comprises about 1.0% of Westfield Capital Management Co. LP's investment portfolio, making the stock its 19th biggest position. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP owned about 0.08% of Salesforce worth $210,107,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. IQ EQ FUND MANAGEMENT IRELAND Ltd bought a new position in Salesforce during the 1st quarter valued at about $511,000. Silver Coast Investments LLC increased its position in shares of Salesforce by 4.4% during the first quarter. Silver Coast Investments LLC now owns 1,928 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $517,000 after acquiring an additional 82 shares during the period. Probity Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 2.9% in the first quarter. Probity Advisors Inc. now owns 3,344 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $897,000 after purchasing an additional 95 shares during the period. ING Groep NV lifted its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 41.7% in the 1st quarter. ING Groep NV now owns 426,246 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $114,387,000 after buying an additional 125,337 shares during the period. Finally, Earned Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Salesforce by 140.1% during the first quarter. Earned Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 4,774 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $1,281,000 after buying an additional 2,786 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.43% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Salesforce news, CEO Marc Benioff sold 2,250 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $252.42, for a total transaction of $567,945.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 11,911,571 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,006,718,751.82. This trade represents a 0.02% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders sold 44,229 shares of company stock valued at $11,898,691 over the last quarter. 3.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CRM has been the subject of several recent research reports. Piper Sandler boosted their price target on shares of Salesforce from $315.00 to $335.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 28th. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated a "sector perform" rating and issued a $275.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a report on Monday, July 14th. Stephens reduced their price target on Salesforce from $311.00 to $309.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 30th. UBS Group set a $404.00 target price on Salesforce and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 18th. Finally, Citigroup cut their price objective 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. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, twenty-seven have issued a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $348.16.

Salesforce Price Performance

Salesforce stock traded down $8.88 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $240.29. The stock had a trading volume of 2,950,570 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,044,412. Salesforce Inc. has a 1-year low of $230.00 and a 1-year high of $369.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a current ratio of 1.07 and a quick ratio of 1.07. The stock's fifty day moving average is $264.50 and its two-hundred day moving average is $280.68. The stock has a market capitalization of $229.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.59, a PEG ratio of 2.25 and a beta of 1.37.

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

Salesforce Cuts Dividend

The business also recently announced 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 of this dividend was Wednesday, June 18th. This represents a $1.66 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.7%. Salesforce's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 25.98%.

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.