Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) Shares Sold by Ossiam

Ossiam decreased its position in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 95.2% in the first quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 22,246 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after selling 443,578 shares during the period. Ossiam’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $6,700,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 1.2% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 84,635,254 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $25,490,446,000 after purchasing an additional 1,008,841 shares during the period. Capital World Investors lifted its stake in Salesforce by 2.4% during the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 19,561,325 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $5,147,402,000 after acquiring an additional 457,463 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 5.3% in the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 14,921,042 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $3,926,323,000 after acquiring an additional 752,566 shares during the last quarter. Capital International Investors increased its stake in shares of Salesforce by 76.4% in the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 13,708,615 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $3,607,493,000 after acquiring an additional 5,935,973 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Salesforce during the fourth quarter worth $2,762,331,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.43% of the company’s stock.

Salesforce Price Performance

Shares of Salesforce stock traded up $6.75 on Thursday, hitting $256.53. 7,155,260 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,821,308. The stock has a market capitalization of $248.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 46.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.25 and a beta of 1.29. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $251.65 and a 200 day moving average price of $275.37. Salesforce, Inc. has a 1-year low of $193.68 and a 1-year high of $318.71. The company has a quick ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14.

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

Salesforce Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 25th. Investors of record on Tuesday, July 9th will be issued a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.62%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, July 9th. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio is presently 28.78%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have commented on CRM shares. Raymond James reaffirmed a “strong-buy” rating and issued a $325.00 price target (down from $380.00) on shares of Salesforce in a report on Thursday, May 30th. Truist Financial reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $300.00 target price (down from $360.00) on shares of Salesforce in a report on Thursday, May 30th. Mizuho reduced their price target on Salesforce from $345.00 to $300.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 30th. TD Cowen lowered their price objective on Salesforce from $330.00 to $285.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 30th. Finally, Wedbush dropped their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $325.00 to $315.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, May 29th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating, twenty-five have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $292.79.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Salesforce news, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 413 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $255.78, for a total value of $105,637.14. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 6,431 shares in the company, valued at $1,644,921.18. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, CEO Marc Benioff sold 15,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $274.79, for a total transaction of $4,121,850.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 12,737,327 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,500,090,086.33. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 413 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $255.78, for a total value of $105,637.14. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 6,431 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,644,921.18. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 339,242 shares of company stock worth $90,405,271. Company insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

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.