Kaizen Financial Strategies Grows Stake in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Kaizen Financial Strategies grew its holdings in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 1.1% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 6,396 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 71 shares during the quarter. Salesforce comprises 1.0% of Kaizen Financial Strategies’ investment portfolio, making the stock its 21st biggest holding. Kaizen Financial Strategies’ holdings in Salesforce were worth $1,716,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Athena Investment Management purchased a new position in shares of Salesforce in the 4th quarter valued at about $236,000. Jag Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Salesforce by 2,507.9% during the 4th quarter. Jag Capital Management LLC now owns 23,706 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $7,926,000 after buying an additional 22,797 shares during the last quarter. Lecap Asset Management Ltd. purchased a new position in Salesforce during the 4th quarter worth approximately $2,861,000. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp grew its stake in Salesforce by 2.7% during the 4th quarter. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp now owns 27,358 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $9,146,000 after buying an additional 723 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dash Acquisitions Inc. grew its stake in Salesforce by 2.6% during the 4th quarter. Dash Acquisitions Inc. now owns 60,521 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $21,785,000 after buying an additional 1,525 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.43% of the company’s stock.

Salesforce Stock Performance

Shares of CRM stock opened at $265.03 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $267.31 and a 200 day moving average price of $304.49. The stock has a market cap of $254.80 billion, a PE ratio of 43.59, a P/E/G ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 1.42. Salesforce, Inc. has a 1 year low of $227.77 and a 1 year high of $369.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a current ratio of 1.11.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last issued 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 firm had revenue of $9.83 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.74 billion. Salesforce had a return on equity of 12.34% and a net margin of 15.96%. Salesforce’s revenue was up 7.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.44 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.46 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 24th. Investors of record on Thursday, April 10th were issued a dividend of $0.42 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 10th. This is a boost from Salesforce’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.63%. Salesforce’s payout ratio is currently 25.98%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CRM has been the topic of a number of research reports. Northland Securities dropped their price target on Salesforce from $423.00 to $396.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday. Mizuho dropped their price target on Salesforce from $425.00 to $380.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 15th. Piper Sandler raised their price target on Salesforce from $315.00 to $335.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Scotiabank dropped their price target on Salesforce from $400.00 to $345.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 17th. Finally, Bank of America dropped their price target on Salesforce from $440.00 to $400.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, twenty-eight have issued a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Salesforce has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $343.32.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Salesforce news, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 1,909 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $284.58, for a total transaction of $543,263.22. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 11,310 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,218,599.80. This trade represents a 14.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Amy E. Weaver sold 6,221 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $301.00, for a total value of $1,872,521.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 46,750 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $14,071,750. The trade was a 11.74% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 46,553 shares of company stock valued at $12,897,323. 3.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.