Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM) Stake Raised by KPP Advisory Services LLC

KPP Advisory Services LLC grew its holdings in shares of Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 40.4% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 10,358 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after buying an additional 2,983 shares during the period. KPP Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $2,780,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CRM. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Salesforce during the fourth quarter worth approximately $3,599,867,000. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main raised its holdings in Salesforce by 926.4% during the fourth quarter. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main now owns 4,256,211 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $1,422,979,000 after purchasing an additional 3,841,521 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in Salesforce by 30,456.9% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,801,588 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $1,020,194,000 after purchasing an additional 3,789,147 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in Salesforce during the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,173,564,000. Finally, Invesco Ltd. raised its holdings in Salesforce by 42.5% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 7,791,015 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $2,604,770,000 after purchasing an additional 2,325,156 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.43% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Mizuho dropped their target price on Salesforce from $425.00 to $380.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 15th. Westpark Capital restated a “buy” rating and issued a $320.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Wednesday, May 28th. Bank of America decreased their price target on shares of Salesforce from $440.00 to $400.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Northland Securities decreased their price target on shares of Salesforce from $423.00 to $396.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 29th. Finally, Macquarie restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $320.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, twenty-eight have given a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Salesforce currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $349.08.

Salesforce Trading Down 1.1%

NYSE:CRM opened at $268.11 on Thursday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $269.39 and its 200 day moving average price is $295.75. Salesforce Inc. has a 52 week low of $230.00 and a 52 week high of $369.00. The company has a market capitalization of $256.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 41.96, a P/E/G ratio of 2.46 and a beta of 1.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a current ratio of 1.07.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 28th. The CRM provider reported $2.58 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.74 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.44 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 7.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast that Salesforce Inc. will post 7.46 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Cuts Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 10th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, June 18th will be given a dividend of $0.416 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, June 18th. This represents a $1.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.62%. Salesforce’s payout ratio is currently 25.98%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Oscar Munoz acquired 3,882 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 3rd. The shares were acquired at an average price of $257.28 per share, for a total transaction of $998,760.96. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 11,843 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,046,967.04. The trade was a 48.76% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Miguel Milano sold 405 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $262.35, for a total transaction of $106,251.75. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 9,933 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,605,922.55. The trade was a 3.92% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 26,284 shares of company stock valued at $6,996,762 over the last 90 days. 3.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.