Ramirez Asset Management Inc. Sells 162 Shares of Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Ramirez Asset Management Inc. trimmed its holdings in shares of Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 2.7% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 5,824 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after selling 162 shares during the period. Ramirez Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $1,563,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Seven Mile Advisory grew its position in Salesforce by 2.3% in the 4th quarter. Seven Mile Advisory now owns 1,762 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $589,000 after purchasing an additional 39 shares during the period. Liberty One Investment Management LLC grew its position in Salesforce by 1.2% in the 1st quarter. Liberty One Investment Management LLC now owns 3,165 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $849,000 after purchasing an additional 39 shares during the period. First Command Advisory Services Inc. grew its position in Salesforce by 7.3% in the 1st quarter. First Command Advisory Services Inc. now owns 572 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $154,000 after purchasing an additional 39 shares during the period. Mendel Money Management grew its position in Salesforce by 3.6% in the 1st quarter. Mendel Money Management now owns 1,112 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $298,000 after purchasing an additional 39 shares during the period. Finally, Clarity Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in Salesforce by 2.3% in the 1st quarter. Clarity Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,760 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $472,000 after purchasing an additional 40 shares during the period. 80.43% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Salesforce

In other news, CEO Marc Benioff sold 2,250 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $269.38, for a total transaction of $606,105.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 11,911,571 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,208,738,995.98. The trade was a 0.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders sold 35,729 shares of company stock worth $9,697,901 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

Salesforce Trading Up 0.4%

Shares of CRM opened at $270.20 on Tuesday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $267.73 and its 200-day moving average price is $283.35. Salesforce Inc. has a twelve month low of $230.00 and a twelve month high of $369.00. The stock has a market cap of $258.31 billion, a PE ratio of 42.28, a P/E/G ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.36. 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 (NYSE:CRM) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 28th. The CRM provider reported $2.58 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.55 by $0.03. Salesforce had a return on equity of 12.94% and a net margin of 16.08%. The firm had revenue of $9.83 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.74 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.44 earnings per share. The company’s revenue 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 business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 10th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, June 18th were given a dividend of $0.416 per share. This represents a $1.66 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.62%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, June 18th. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio is presently 25.98%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently issued reports on CRM. Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating and issued 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 lifted their price target on shares of Salesforce from $340.00 to $385.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 29th. Piper Sandler raised their price objective on Salesforce from $315.00 to $335.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 28th. Canaccord Genuity Group dropped their price objective on Salesforce from $400.00 to $350.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, May 28th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price objective on Salesforce from $425.00 to $375.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 31st. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, twenty-seven have given a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Salesforce presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $348.16.

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.