Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) Shares Purchased by QRG Capital Management Inc.

QRG Capital Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 2.6% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 186,200 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 4,792 shares during the period. QRG Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $49,969,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of CRM. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 19,955,353 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $6,656,078,000 after acquiring an additional 175,035 shares during the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its stake in Salesforce by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 12,453,872 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $4,163,703,000 after buying an additional 177,321 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp grew its stake in Salesforce by 18.3% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 11,224,927 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $3,752,830,000 after buying an additional 1,736,667 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Salesforce during the 4th quarter worth approximately $3,599,867,000. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 23.2% in the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 8,938,536 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $2,988,422,000 after acquiring an additional 1,683,233 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.43% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Salesforce

In related news, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, May 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $275.00, for a total transaction of $137,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 11,711 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,220,525. This trade represents a 4.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider R David Schmaier sold 6,959 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $253.31, for a total value of $1,762,784.29. Following the sale, the insider now owns 36,090 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,141,957.90. This represents a 16.17% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 34,111 shares of company stock valued at $9,299,283 in the last three months. 3.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Salesforce Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE CRM opened at $258.25 on Monday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $268.09 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $299.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a current ratio of 1.11. The firm has a market cap of $246.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 42.48, a PEG ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 1.38. Salesforce, Inc. has a 1 year low of $227.77 and a 1 year high of $369.00.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 28th. The CRM provider reported $2.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.55 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $9.83 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.74 billion. Salesforce had a return on equity of 12.34% and a net margin of 15.96%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 7.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.44 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.46 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Cuts Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 10th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, June 18th will be paid a dividend of $0.416 per share. This represents a $1.66 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.64%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, June 18th. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio is presently 25.98%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CRM has been the topic of several analyst reports. Oppenheimer reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $370.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Tuesday, June 10th. Loop Capital decreased their price target on Salesforce from $330.00 to $300.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price target on Salesforce from $367.00 to $350.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, May 27th. Westpark Capital restated a “buy” rating and issued a $320.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Wednesday, May 28th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price target on Salesforce from $425.00 to $375.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 31st. Two investment 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $346.34.

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.