Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) Shares Purchased by First Affirmative Financial Network

First Affirmative Financial Network lifted its stake in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 2.2% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 2,998 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 65 shares during the quarter. First Affirmative Financial Network’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $805,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in CRM. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Salesforce by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 19,955,353 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $6,656,078,000 after buying an additional 175,035 shares in the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in Salesforce by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 12,453,872 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $4,163,703,000 after buying an additional 177,321 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp lifted its holdings in 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 buying an additional 1,736,667 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Salesforce during the 4th quarter worth approximately $3,599,867,000. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its holdings in 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 buying an additional 1,683,233 shares in the last quarter. 80.43% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Salesforce Stock Up 2.7%

CRM stock opened at $274.48 on Friday. Salesforce, Inc. has a one year low of $227.77 and a one year high of $369.00. The stock has a market capitalization of $262.40 billion, a PE ratio of 45.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 1.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a current ratio of 1.11. The company has a fifty day moving average of $266.57 and a 200-day moving average of $302.58.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, May 28th. The CRM provider reported $2.58 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.55 by $0.03. Salesforce had a net margin of 15.96% and a return on equity of 12.34%. The company had revenue of $9.83 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.74 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $2.44 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 7.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts expect that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.46 EPS for the current year.

Salesforce Cuts Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 10th. Investors of record on Wednesday, June 18th will be paid a $0.416 dividend. This represents a $1.66 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.61%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, June 18th. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 25.98%.

Insider Activity at Salesforce

In other Salesforce news, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $275.00, for a total transaction of $137,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 11,711 shares in the company, valued at $3,220,525. The trade was a 4.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Amy E. Weaver sold 6,221 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $277.37, for a total transaction of $1,725,518.77. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 46,750 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,967,047.50. This represents a 11.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 40,332 shares of company stock worth $11,024,802 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have issued reports on CRM. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $400.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a report on Wednesday, May 28th. Sanford C. Bernstein increased their target price on shares of Salesforce from $243.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a report on Thursday, May 29th. Citigroup reduced their target price on shares of Salesforce from $320.00 to $295.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 30th. Canaccord Genuity Group dropped their price objective 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, Redburn Atlantic started coverage on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. They issued a “buy” rating on the stock. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating, twenty-seven have given a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Salesforce currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $346.34.

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.