Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) Position Decreased by Ceera Investments LLC

Ceera Investments LLC lessened its position in shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 1.0% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 23,978 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after selling 235 shares during the period. Salesforce makes up 2.6% of Ceera Investments LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 9th biggest position. Ceera Investments LLC’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $6,165,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in Salesforce by 1.2% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 84,635,254 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $25,490,446,000 after purchasing an additional 1,008,841 shares during the period. Capital World Investors raised 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 purchasing an additional 457,463 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its position in Salesforce by 5.2% during the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 14,905,462 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $3,922,223,000 after acquiring an additional 736,986 shares in the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors raised its position in shares of Salesforce by 26.9% in the first quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 14,376,536 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $4,329,925,000 after purchasing an additional 3,044,611 shares during the period. Finally, Capital International Investors grew its stake in shares of Salesforce by 3.0% in the first quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 14,116,449 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $4,251,592,000 after acquiring an additional 407,834 shares during the last quarter. 80.43% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Salesforce Stock Down 0.9 %

NYSE:CRM traded down $2.15 on Friday, hitting $243.97. 6,259,431 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,604,331. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a current ratio of 1.04 and a quick ratio of 1.11. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $254.52 and a 200-day moving average price of $269.79. The company has a market cap of $236.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 43.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 1.29. Salesforce, Inc. has a 52 week low of $193.68 and a 52 week high of $318.71.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last released 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 net margin of 15.44% and a return on equity of 12.01%. The company 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 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 8.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts expect that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.52 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 8th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, September 18th will be paid a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, September 18th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.66%. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 28.78%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Salesforce

In related news, insider Parker Harris sold 2,800 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $240.40, for a total value of $673,120.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 115,762 shares in the company, valued at $27,829,184.80. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, CEO Marc Benioff sold 15,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $241.74, for a total transaction of $3,626,100.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 12,162,457 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,940,152,355.18. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Parker Harris sold 2,800 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $240.40, for a total transaction of $673,120.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 115,762 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $27,829,184.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 83,692 shares of company stock valued at $21,006,957. Corporate insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on CRM shares. TD Cowen upped their price objective on Salesforce from $285.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. Phillip Securities restated an “accumulate” rating and issued a $305.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a report on Friday, August 30th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their price target on shares of Salesforce from $350.00 to $300.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 30th. Bank of America reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $325.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Friday. Finally, Roth Mkm reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $335.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-seven have issued a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $304.41.

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.