Graphene Investments SAS Acquires 1,300 Shares of Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Graphene Investments SAS raised its holdings in shares of Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 14.8% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 10,100 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,300 shares during the period. Graphene Investments SAS’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $2,710,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Brighton Jones LLC increased its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 13.7% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 25,668 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $8,582,000 after acquiring an additional 3,102 shares in the last quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC increased its stake in Salesforce by 12.6% during the 4th quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 1,827 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $611,000 after purchasing an additional 205 shares in the last quarter. Advisor OS LLC raised its holdings in Salesforce by 47.9% in the fourth quarter. Advisor OS LLC now owns 2,266 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $758,000 after buying an additional 734 shares during the last quarter. Bryn Mawr Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Salesforce by 16.2% in the fourth quarter. Bryn Mawr Capital Management LLC now owns 7,403 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $2,475,000 after buying an additional 1,030 shares in the last quarter. Finally, NewEdge Wealth LLC grew its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 1.6% during the fourth quarter. NewEdge Wealth LLC now owns 214,325 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $71,655,000 after buying an additional 3,351 shares during the last quarter. 80.43% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on CRM. Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $425.00 to $347.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 29th. Robert W. Baird decreased their price target on Salesforce from $430.00 to $400.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $404.00 price objective (up from $393.00) on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Thursday, May 29th. Erste Group Bank downgraded Salesforce from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, June 5th. Finally, Stephens lowered their target price on shares of Salesforce from $311.00 to $309.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 30th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, twenty-eight have assigned a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Salesforce currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $349.08.

Salesforce Stock Up 1.0%

Shares of CRM stock opened at $270.50 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a current ratio of 1.07 and a quick ratio of 1.07. Salesforce Inc. has a one year low of $230.00 and a one year high of $369.00. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $269.86 and its 200-day moving average price is $295.19. The company has a market capitalization of $258.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.33, a PEG ratio of 2.43 and a beta of 1.38.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 28th. The CRM provider reported $2.58 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.55 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $9.83 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.74 billion. Salesforce had a return on equity of 12.94% and a net margin of 16.08%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 7.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.44 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that Salesforce Inc. will post 7.46 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 10th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, June 18th will be paid a $0.416 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, June 18th. This represents a $1.66 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.62%. Salesforce’s payout ratio is 25.98%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Salesforce

In other Salesforce news, insider Parker Harris sold 1,142 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $262.35, for a total transaction of $299,603.70. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 136,824 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $35,895,776.40. This represents a 0.83% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 261 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $262.35, for a total value of $68,473.35. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 12,024 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,154,496.40. The trade was a 2.12% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 26,284 shares of company stock valued at $6,996,762 in the last three months. 3.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

About Salesforce

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.