Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM) Shares Sold by Zweig DiMenna Associates LLC

Zweig DiMenna Associates LLC trimmed its position in shares of Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 6.4% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 37,258 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after selling 2,542 shares during the period. Salesforce makes up about 1.6% of Zweig DiMenna Associates LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 23rd biggest holding. Zweig DiMenna Associates LLC’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $9,999,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Salesforce during the 4th quarter worth $3,599,867,000. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main boosted its position in 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 purchasing an additional 3,841,521 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position 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 during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. boosted its position in Salesforce by 42.5% in the 4th 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. Finally, Northern Trust Corp boosted its position in Salesforce by 18.3% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 11,224,927 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $3,752,830,000 after buying an additional 1,736,667 shares during the last quarter. 80.43% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Salesforce

In other Salesforce news, insider Srinivas Tallapragada sold 6,697 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $295.00, for a total value of $1,975,615.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 41,422 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,219,490. The trade was a 13.92% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Marc Benioff sold 2,250 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $271.69, for a total transaction of $611,302.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 11,862,457 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,222,910,942.33. This represents a 0.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 33,479 shares of company stock valued at $9,091,796. Insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on CRM shares. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and issued a $275.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Monday, July 14th. Guggenheim upgraded shares of Salesforce from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, April 21st. Jefferies Financial Group cut their target price on shares of Salesforce from $425.00 to $375.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 31st. Morgan Stanley restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $404.00 target price (up previously from $393.00) on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Thursday, May 29th. Finally, Barclays cut their target price on shares of Salesforce from $425.00 to $347.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 29th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, twenty-seven have assigned a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Salesforce has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $348.16.

Salesforce Stock Performance

NYSE CRM opened at $267.62 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. The company’s fifty day moving average is $268.50 and its two-hundred day moving average is $284.66. Salesforce Inc. has a 52-week low of $230.00 and a 52-week high of $369.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $255.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.88, a P/E/G ratio of 2.42 and a beta of 1.36.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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. Salesforce had a net margin of 16.08% and a return on equity of 12.94%. The firm had revenue of $9.83 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.74 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.44 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 7.6% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that Salesforce Inc. will post 7.46 EPS for the current year.

Salesforce Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 10th. Investors of record on Wednesday, June 18th were issued a dividend of $0.416 per share. This represents a $1.66 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.62%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, June 18th. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio is currently 25.98%.

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.