Westwind Capital Grows Stock Holdings in Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Westwind Capital raised its position in Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 4.3% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 42,551 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,739 shares during the quarter. Salesforce makes up 2.8% of Westwind Capital’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 17th largest position. Westwind Capital’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $11,419,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Salesforce during the fourth quarter worth about $3,599,867,000. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main raised its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 926.4% during 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 purchasing an additional 3,841,521 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 30,456.9% during 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 purchasing an additional 3,789,147 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Salesforce during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,173,564,000. Finally, Invesco Ltd. increased its holdings in Salesforce by 42.5% during 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 during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.43% of the company’s stock.

Salesforce Stock Up 0.7%

Shares of NYSE:CRM opened at $272.72 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.07, a current ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. Salesforce Inc. has a 52-week low of $230.00 and a 52-week high of $369.00. The company has a 50 day moving average of $270.38 and a two-hundred day moving average of $294.66. The company has a market capitalization of $260.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 1.38.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 28th. The CRM provider reported $2.58 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.55 by $0.03. Salesforce had a net margin of 16.08% and a return on equity of 12.94%. The business had revenue of $9.83 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.74 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.44 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 7.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts forecast that Salesforce Inc. will post 7.46 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Cuts Dividend

The business also recently announced 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. This represents a $1.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.61%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, June 18th. Salesforce’s payout ratio is 25.98%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Salesforce

In related news, insider Srinivas Tallapragada sold 1,269 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $262.35, for a total transaction of $332,922.15. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 42,678 shares in the company, valued at $11,196,573.30. The trade was a 2.89% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Miguel Milano sold 405 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $262.35, for a total transaction of $106,251.75. Following the sale, the insider now owns 9,933 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,605,922.55. This represents a 3.92% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 26,284 shares of company stock worth $6,996,762. 3.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CRM has been the subject of a number of research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on shares of Salesforce from $340.00 to $385.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, May 29th. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $325.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a report on Thursday. Macquarie reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $320.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Northland Securities reduced their target price on shares of Salesforce from $423.00 to $396.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 29th. Finally, Guggenheim raised shares of Salesforce from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, April 21st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, twenty-eight have issued a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Salesforce presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $349.08.

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.