Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) Position Raised by Sciencast Management LP

Sciencast Management LP raised its holdings in shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 8.7% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 6,438 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after buying an additional 514 shares during the quarter. Salesforce comprises about 1.2% of Sciencast Management LP’s holdings, making the stock its 9th largest position. Sciencast Management LP’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $1,939,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in CRM. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 21.7% during the 1st quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 55,819 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $16,811,000 after acquiring an additional 9,941 shares during the last quarter. Empirical Finance LLC lifted its stake in Salesforce by 3.4% during the first quarter. Empirical Finance LLC now owns 34,632 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $10,430,000 after purchasing an additional 1,150 shares during the last quarter. Duality Advisers LP purchased a new position in shares of Salesforce in the 1st quarter worth about $1,280,000. Concord Investment Counsel Inc. bought a new position in shares of Salesforce during the 1st quarter valued at about $3,894,000. Finally, Davidson Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 28,746.4% during the 1st quarter. Davidson Capital Management Inc. now owns 8,077 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $2,433,000 after buying an additional 8,049 shares in the last quarter. 80.43% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on CRM shares. Barclays reduced their price objective on Salesforce from $355.00 to $305.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. Citigroup decreased their price target on Salesforce from $323.00 to $260.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. Raymond James reissued a “strong-buy” rating and set a $325.00 price objective (down previously from $380.00) on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $350.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Friday, May 24th. Finally, Oppenheimer dropped their price target on shares of Salesforce from $325.00 to $280.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 30th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating, twenty-five have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $292.79.

Insider Transactions at Salesforce

In other news, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 2,425 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $273.15, for a total transaction of $662,388.75. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 5,856 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,599,566.40. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 2,425 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $273.15, for a total transaction of $662,388.75. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 5,856 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,599,566.40. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Srinivas Tallapragada sold 942 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $242.32, for a total transaction of $228,265.44. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 22,154 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,368,357.28. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 439,152 shares of company stock worth $118,115,911 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

Salesforce Stock Performance

NYSE CRM traded up $3.04 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $254.16. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 4,704,981 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,925,891. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 1.11. The company has a market cap of $246.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 45.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 1.29. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $256.43 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $275.81. Salesforce, Inc. has a 12 month low of $193.68 and a 12 month high of $318.71.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 29th. The CRM provider reported $2.44 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.38 by $0.06. Salesforce had a net margin of 15.30% and a return on equity of 11.57%. The firm had revenue of $9.13 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.15 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.15 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 10.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 25th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, July 9th will be given a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.63%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, July 9th. Salesforce’s payout ratio is currently 28.78%.

Salesforce 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.