LGT Group Foundation Increases Stock Holdings in Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

LGT Group Foundation boosted its holdings in Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 379.7% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 73,822 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 58,434 shares during the period. LGT Group Foundation’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $19,811,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of CRM. Russell Investments Group Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Salesforce by 22.0% in the first quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 1,107,915 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $297,493,000 after buying an additional 200,083 shares during the period. Prudential PLC grew its position in Salesforce by 8.7% during the first quarter. Prudential PLC now owns 131,209 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $35,211,000 after buying an additional 10,496 shares in the last quarter. Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its position in Salesforce by 7.9% during the first quarter. Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 309,339 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $83,093,000 after buying an additional 22,552 shares in the last quarter. Rathbones Group PLC grew its position in Salesforce by 30.8% during the first quarter. Rathbones Group PLC now owns 567,493 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $152,292,000 after buying an additional 133,465 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Westpac Banking Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 5.2% in the 1st quarter. Westpac Banking Corp now owns 10,535 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $2,827,000 after purchasing an additional 521 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.43% of the company’s stock.

Salesforce Stock Performance

CRM stock opened at $232.46 on Tuesday. Salesforce Inc. has a 1 year low of $230.00 and a 1 year high of $369.00. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $262.89 and its 200-day moving average price is $278.04. The company has a market cap of $222.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.18 and a beta of 1.37. 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 (NYSE:CRM) last announced its earnings results 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 company had revenue of $9.83 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.74 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.44 EPS. Salesforce’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts forecast that Salesforce Inc. will post 7.46 earnings per share for the current year.

Salesforce Cuts Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 10th. Investors of record on Wednesday, June 18th were issued a $0.416 dividend. This represents a $1.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, June 18th. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 25.98%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Cantor Fitzgerald cut Salesforce from an “overweight” rating to a “cautious” rating in a report on Thursday, July 10th. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $404.00 price target (up previously from $393.00) on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Thursday, May 29th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on Salesforce from $340.00 to $385.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 29th. Sanford C. Bernstein increased their target price on Salesforce from $243.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 29th. Finally, Mizuho decreased their target price on Salesforce from $425.00 to $380.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 15th. 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 data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $348.16.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Salesforce news, insider Srinivas Tallapragada sold 6,697 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $295.00, for a total transaction of $1,975,615.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 41,422 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,219,490. This trade represents a 13.92% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Marc Benioff sold 2,250 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $259.67, for a total value of $584,257.50. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 11,955,566 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,104,501,823.22. 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 48,729 shares of company stock worth $12,998,356. 3.00% of the stock is owned by 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.