Destiny Wealth Partners LLC Increases Stake in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Destiny Wealth Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 5.1% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 11,621 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 568 shares during the quarter. Destiny Wealth Partners LLC’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $3,119,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Salesforce in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $3,599,867,000. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main increased its position in shares of Salesforce by 926.4% in the fourth quarter. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main now owns 4,256,211 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $1,422,979,000 after buying an additional 3,841,521 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in shares of Salesforce by 30,456.9% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,801,588 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $1,020,194,000 after buying an additional 3,789,147 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Salesforce in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,173,564,000. Finally, Invesco Ltd. increased its position in shares of Salesforce by 42.5% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 7,791,015 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $2,604,770,000 after buying an additional 2,325,156 shares in the last quarter. 80.43% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Salesforce Stock Performance

Shares of Salesforce stock opened at $274.48 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. The firm has a market cap of $262.40 billion, a PE ratio of 45.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 1.38. Salesforce, Inc. has a 52 week low of $227.77 and a 52 week high of $369.00. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $266.57 and its 200-day simple moving average is $302.19.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 28th. The CRM provider reported $2.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.55 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $9.83 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.74 billion. Salesforce had a return on equity of 12.34% and a net margin of 15.96%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 7.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.44 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.46 earnings per share for the current year.

Salesforce Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 10th. Investors of record on Wednesday, June 18th will be issued a $0.416 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, June 18th. This represents a $1.66 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.61%. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio is presently 25.98%.

Insider Activity at Salesforce

In other Salesforce news, insider R David Schmaier sold 6,959 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $253.31, for a total transaction of $1,762,784.29. Following the sale, the insider now owns 36,090 shares in the company, valued at $9,141,957.90. This represents a 16.17% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Amy E. Weaver sold 6,221 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $277.37, for a total value of $1,725,518.77. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 46,750 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,967,047.50. This trade represents a 11.74% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 40,332 shares of company stock worth $11,024,802. 3.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently commented on the company. Scotiabank cut their price objective on Salesforce from $400.00 to $345.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, March 17th. Canaccord Genuity Group lowered their price target on Salesforce from $400.00 to $350.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, May 28th. DA Davidson reaffirmed an “underperform” rating and issued a $200.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Wednesday, May 28th. Mizuho lowered their price target on Salesforce from $425.00 to $380.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 15th. Finally, Oppenheimer reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $370.00 price target (down from $380.00) on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Thursday, May 29th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating, twenty-seven have issued a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Salesforce has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $346.34.

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.