Krane Funds Advisors LLC Boosts Stock Holdings in Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Krane Funds Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 112.3% in the first quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 2,864 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,515 shares during the period. Krane Funds Advisors LLC’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $769,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Jag Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 2,507.9% in the 4th quarter. Jag Capital Management LLC now owns 23,706 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $7,926,000 after acquiring an additional 22,797 shares during the last quarter. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp increased its stake in shares of Salesforce by 2.7% during the fourth quarter. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp now owns 27,358 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $9,146,000 after acquiring an additional 723 shares during the period. Millstone Evans Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Salesforce in the 4th quarter worth $823,000. Heartland Bank & Trust Co lifted its holdings in Salesforce by 117.2% in the 1st quarter. Heartland Bank & Trust Co now owns 5,981 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $1,605,000 after acquiring an additional 3,227 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Catalyst Funds Management Pty Ltd bought a new stake in Salesforce during the fourth quarter worth approximately $5,249,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.43% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Salesforce

In related news, insider Miguel Milano sold 405 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, June 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $262.35, for a total transaction of $106,251.75. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 9,933 shares in the company, valued at $2,605,922.55. This represents a 3.92% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Srinivas Tallapragada sold 1,269 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $262.35, for a total value of $332,922.15. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 42,678 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,196,573.30. This represents a 2.89% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 28,534 shares of company stock worth $7,609,842. 3.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Salesforce Stock Down 0.3%

Shares of CRM opened at $271.86 on Wednesday. Salesforce Inc. has a 12-month low of $230.00 and a 12-month high of $369.00. The firm has a market cap of $259.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 42.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.47 and a beta of 1.37. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $271.69 and its 200 day moving average price is $293.08. The company has a current ratio of 1.07, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, May 28th. The CRM provider reported $2.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.55 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $9.83 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.74 billion. Salesforce had a net margin of 16.08% and a return on equity of 12.94%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 7.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.44 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Salesforce Inc. will post 7.46 earnings per share for the current year.

Salesforce Cuts Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have commented on CRM. Barclays decreased their target price on shares of Salesforce from $425.00 to $347.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 29th. Northland Securities cut their price target on shares of Salesforce from $423.00 to $396.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 29th. Scotiabank dropped their price objective on Salesforce from $400.00 to $345.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 17th. Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their price objective on Salesforce from $243.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a report on Thursday, May 29th. Finally, Erste Group Bank cut shares of Salesforce from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 5th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, twenty-eight have issued a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $349.08.

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.