Root Financial Partners LLC Has $695,000 Stock Holdings in Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Root Financial Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 10.9% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 2,589 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 254 shares during the period. Root Financial Partners LLC’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $695,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Salesforce in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $3,599,867,000. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main lifted its position in shares of Salesforce by 926.4% during the 4th quarter. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main now owns 4,256,211 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $1,422,979,000 after buying an additional 3,841,521 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in Salesforce by 30,456.9% in the 1st 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. acquired a new stake in Salesforce in the 4th quarter valued at $1,173,564,000. Finally, Invesco Ltd. grew its position in 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 acquiring an additional 2,325,156 shares during the period. 80.43% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 1,256 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $253.31, for a total value of $318,157.36. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 12,826 shares in the company, valued at $3,248,954.06. This represents a 8.92% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider R David Schmaier sold 6,959 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the insider now owns 36,090 shares in the company, 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 have sold 26,284 shares of company stock valued at $6,996,762 in the last 90 days. 3.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CRM has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. DA Davidson restated an “underperform” rating and issued a $200.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Wednesday, May 28th. Piper Sandler lifted their price target on shares of Salesforce from $315.00 to $335.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 28th. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $325.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Thursday. Barclays cut their target price on shares of Salesforce from $425.00 to $347.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 29th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on Salesforce from $340.00 to $385.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 29th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, twenty-eight have given a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Salesforce has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $349.08.

Salesforce Stock Performance

Shares of Salesforce stock opened at $272.72 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $270.38 and a two-hundred day moving average of $294.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a current ratio of 1.07. The stock has a market capitalization of $260.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.68, a PEG ratio of 2.48 and a beta of 1.38. Salesforce Inc. has a 52 week low of $230.00 and a 52 week high of $369.00.

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

Salesforce Cuts Dividend

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

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.