Marco Investment Management LLC Trims Stock Position in Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Marco Investment Management LLC cut its position in shares of Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 0.7% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 52,866 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after selling 347 shares during the period. Salesforce makes up 1.3% of Marco Investment Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 25th biggest holding. Marco Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $14,187,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of CRM. Delaney Dennis R raised its stake in shares of Salesforce by 66.1% in the 1st quarter. Delaney Dennis R now owns 5,694 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $1,528,000 after acquiring an additional 2,266 shares during the period. Journey Strategic Wealth LLC raised its stake in shares of Salesforce by 34.5% in the 1st quarter. Journey Strategic Wealth LLC now owns 4,948 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $1,328,000 after acquiring an additional 1,270 shares during the period. ARK Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Salesforce in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $20,179,000. Caliber Wealth Management LLC KS purchased a new stake in shares of Salesforce in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $1,882,000. Finally, Pin Oak Investment Advisors Inc. raised its stake in shares of Salesforce by 7,209.6% in the 1st quarter. Pin Oak Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 12,207 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $3,296,000 after acquiring an additional 12,040 shares during the period. 80.43% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Marc Benioff sold 2,250 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, July 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $269.38, for a total value of $606,105.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 11,911,571 shares in the company, valued at $3,208,738,995.98. This represents a 0.02% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 35,729 shares of company stock valued at $9,697,901. 3.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on CRM shares. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Salesforce from $255.00 to $275.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 29th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on shares of Salesforce from $340.00 to $385.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 29th. Mizuho reduced their price target on shares of Salesforce from $425.00 to $380.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 15th. DA Davidson restated an “underperform” rating and issued a $200.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a report on Wednesday, May 28th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein upped their target price on shares of Salesforce from $243.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 29th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, twenty-seven have issued a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $348.16.

Salesforce Trading Up 0.4%

Shares of Salesforce stock opened at $270.20 on Tuesday. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $267.73 and a 200-day simple moving average of $283.35. Salesforce Inc. has a 12-month low of $230.00 and a 12-month high of $369.00. The company has a current ratio of 1.07, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. The stock has a market cap of $258.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.28, a PEG ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.36.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last issued its 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 business had revenue of $9.83 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.74 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.44 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast 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 was paid on Thursday, July 10th. Investors of record on Wednesday, June 18th were given a $0.416 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, June 18th. This represents a $1.66 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.62%. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.