William Blair Investment Management LLC Reduces Holdings in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

William Blair Investment Management LLC decreased its holdings in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 18.8% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,132,248 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after selling 262,711 shares during the quarter. Salesforce accounts for about 0.8% of William Blair Investment Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 26th largest position. William Blair Investment Management LLC owned approximately 0.12% of Salesforce worth $291,101,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Spartan Planning & Wealth Management raised its stake in Salesforce by 66.3% during the 4th quarter. Spartan Planning & Wealth Management now owns 1,567 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $412,000 after acquiring an additional 625 shares during the period. Parnassus Investments LLC raised its stake in Salesforce by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC now owns 5,951,415 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $1,566,055,000 after acquiring an additional 18,397 shares during the period. TD Asset Management Inc raised its stake in Salesforce by 32.6% during the 4th quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 789,525 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $207,756,000 after acquiring an additional 194,224 shares during the period. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC raised its stake in Salesforce by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC now owns 7,160 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $1,983,000 after acquiring an additional 95 shares during the period. Finally, M&G Plc bought a new stake in Salesforce during the 1st quarter worth approximately $2,178,000. Institutional investors own 80.43% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently issued reports on CRM. Erste Group Bank reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Wednesday. Wedbush reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $315.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. Bank of America reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $325.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Friday, September 6th. Loop Capital lifted their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $240.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $300.00 to $320.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-seven have assigned a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Salesforce currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $304.41.

Salesforce Stock Up 0.5 %

Salesforce stock opened at $254.57 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a current ratio of 1.04. The firm has a market capitalization of $246.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 45.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.26 and a beta of 1.29. Salesforce, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $193.68 and a fifty-two week high of $318.71. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $253.56 and its two-hundred day moving average is $268.35.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, August 28th. The CRM provider reported $2.56 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.36 by $0.20. Salesforce had a return on equity of 12.01% and a net margin of 15.44%. The company had revenue of $9.33 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.22 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.63 earnings per share. Salesforce’s revenue was up 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 8th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, September 18th will be given a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, September 18th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.63%. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio is currently 28.78%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 413 shares of the company’s 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 directly owns 6,431 shares in the company, valued at $1,644,921.18. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, CFO Amy E. Weaver sold 897 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $255.78, for a total value of $229,434.66. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 51,109 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,072,660.02. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 413 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $255.78, for a total value of $105,637.14. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 6,431 shares in the company, valued at $1,644,921.18. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 62,376 shares of company stock worth $15,878,005 over the last three months. 3.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.