Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM) Stock Position Reduced by XTX Topco Ltd

Key Points

• XTX Topco Ltd reduced its position in Salesforce Inc. by 29.8%, now holding shares worth approximately $2.56 million.
• Salesforce recently reported $9.83 billion in quarterly revenue, exceeding analysts' expectations of $9.74 billion, with an EPS of $2.58.
• The stock has seen increased interest from institutional investors, with 80.43% of the company's stock now owned by these investors, alongside a diverse range of analyst price targets.

XTX Topco Ltd cut its holdings in Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM - Free Report) by 29.8% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 9,533 shares of the CRM provider's stock after selling 4,039 shares during the quarter. XTX Topco Ltd's holdings in Salesforce were worth $2,558,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of CRM. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. acquired a new stake in shares of Salesforce during the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. Accredited Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Salesforce during the fourth quarter valued at $27,000. Capital A Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Salesforce by 450.0% during the first quarter. Capital A Wealth Management LLC now owns 110 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 90 shares during the last quarter. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC boosted its stake in shares of Salesforce by 314.8% during the first quarter. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 112 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 85 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Abound Financial LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Salesforce during the first quarter valued at $31,000. 80.43% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Salesforce Stock Down 1.0%

CRM traded down $2.65 on Wednesday, reaching $264.74. The company's stock had a trading volume of 3,913,122 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,561,630. The stock has a market cap of $253.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.43 and a beta of 1.36. 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 business's 50 day moving average is $266.97 and its 200 day moving average is $283.11.

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 firm 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 for the quarter was up 7.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.44 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast that Salesforce Inc. will post 7.46 EPS for the current fiscal 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 issued a $0.416 dividend. This represents a $1.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.63%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, June 18th. Salesforce's dividend payout ratio is currently 25.98%.

Insider Transactions at Salesforce

In other Salesforce news, CEO Marc Benioff sold 2,250 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $271.69, for a total transaction of $611,302.50. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 11,862,457 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,222,910,942.33. This trade represents a 0.02% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Srinivas Tallapragada sold 6,697 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $295.00, for a total value of $1,975,615.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 41,422 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,219,490. This represents a 13.92% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 37,979 shares of company stock valued at $10,303,399 in the last three months. 3.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CRM has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed a "sector perform" rating and set a $275.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Monday, July 14th. Stephens decreased their price objective on Salesforce from $311.00 to $309.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 30th. Northland Securities dropped their target price on Salesforce from $423.00 to $396.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 29th. Oppenheimer reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $370.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Tuesday, June 10th. Finally, Guggenheim upgraded Salesforce from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, April 21st. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, twenty-seven have given a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Salesforce presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $348.16.

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.