Salesforce Inc. $CRM Shares Bought by Alliancebernstein L.P.

Alliancebernstein L.P. boosted its position in shares of Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 63.0% in the first quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 2,844,437 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,099,627 shares during the period. Alliancebernstein L.P.’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $763,333,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. AIA Group Ltd boosted its stake in Salesforce by 8.0% during the 1st quarter. AIA Group Ltd now owns 32,885 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $8,825,000 after acquiring an additional 2,436 shares during the last quarter. Notis McConarty Edward boosted its stake in Salesforce by 71.6% during the 1st quarter. Notis McConarty Edward now owns 3,844 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $1,032,000 after acquiring an additional 1,604 shares during the last quarter. Aberdeen Group plc boosted its stake in Salesforce by 1.5% during the 1st quarter. Aberdeen Group plc now owns 1,036,482 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $274,802,000 after acquiring an additional 15,782 shares during the last quarter. Leith Wheeler Investment Counsel Ltd. boosted its stake in Salesforce by 43.0% during the 1st quarter. Leith Wheeler Investment Counsel Ltd. now owns 104,834 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $28,133,000 after acquiring an additional 31,537 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Alecta Tjanstepension Omsesidigt boosted its stake in Salesforce by 121.9% during the 1st quarter. Alecta Tjanstepension Omsesidigt now owns 355,000 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $95,222,000 after acquiring an additional 195,000 shares during the last quarter. 80.43% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Salesforce Trading Down 1.3%

Shares of NYSE:CRM opened at $252.94 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $241.81 billion, a PE ratio of 39.58, a P/E/G ratio of 2.33 and a beta of 1.22. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $256.83 and its 200 day moving average price is $268.26. Salesforce Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $226.48 and a fifty-two week high of $369.00. 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 Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 10th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, June 18th were paid a $0.416 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, June 18th. This represents a $1.66 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.7%. Salesforce’s payout ratio is currently 25.98%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on CRM. Westpark Capital restated a “buy” rating and issued a $320.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Wednesday, May 28th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of Salesforce from $404.00 to $405.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price target on shares of Salesforce from $350.00 to $335.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. Northland Securities reduced their price target on shares of Salesforce from $423.00 to $396.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 29th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and issued a $400.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Wednesday, May 28th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-four have assigned a Buy rating, ten have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $341.50.

Insider Activity

In other Salesforce news, CEO Marc Benioff sold 2,250 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $257.02, for a total value of $578,295.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 11,911,571 shares in the company, valued at $3,061,511,978.42. This trade represents a 0.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 61,577 shares of company stock valued at $15,776,163. Insiders own 3.00% of the company’s stock.

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.