Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) Shares Sold by Convergence Investment Partners LLC

Convergence Investment Partners LLC decreased its holdings in shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 63.4% during the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 1,667 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after selling 2,891 shares during the period. Convergence Investment Partners LLC’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $429,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Salesforce in the 4th quarter valued at about $2,762,331,000. Capital International Investors grew its holdings in Salesforce by 76.4% in the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 13,708,615 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $3,607,493,000 after purchasing an additional 5,935,973 shares during the period. Capital Research Global Investors raised its stake in Salesforce by 26.9% during the first quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 14,376,536 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $4,329,925,000 after purchasing an additional 3,044,611 shares during the period. GQG Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Salesforce in the 1st quarter valued at $910,220,000. Finally, Swedbank AB purchased a new stake in shares of Salesforce during the 1st quarter valued at $874,748,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.43% of the company’s stock.

Salesforce Stock Down 1.6 %

Shares of Salesforce stock opened at $252.90 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $254.70 and a 200 day moving average price of $270.73. Salesforce, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $193.68 and a fifty-two week high of $318.71. The firm has a market cap of $245.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 45.49, a P/E/G ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 1.29.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 28th. The CRM provider reported $2.56 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.36 by $0.20. Salesforce had a return on equity of 12.01% and a net margin of 15.44%. The business had revenue of $9.33 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.22 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.63 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 8.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.52 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Announces Dividend

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

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Parker Harris sold 4,200 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $262.90, for a total transaction of $1,104,180.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 117,581 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $30,912,044.90. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, CEO Marc Benioff sold 15,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, June 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $242.49, for a total transaction of $3,637,350.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 12,210,327 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,960,882,194.23. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Parker Harris sold 4,200 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $262.90, for a total value of $1,104,180.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 117,581 shares in the company, valued at $30,912,044.90. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 95,164 shares of company stock valued at $23,760,225. Company insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on CRM shares. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on Salesforce from $300.00 to $320.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 29th. TD Cowen lifted their price objective on Salesforce from $285.00 to $290.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. Roth Mkm reissued a “buy” rating and set a $335.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. Piper Sandler lifted their price target on shares of Salesforce from $250.00 to $268.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $250.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-seven have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $304.41.

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.