Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A. Boosts Stock Holdings in Salesforce Inc. $CRM

Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A. raised its holdings in shares of Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 1.2% in the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 224,897 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,591 shares during the period. Salesforce comprises about 0.6% of Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A.’s portfolio, making the stock its 27th largest holding. Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A.’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $60,386,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in CRM. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its position in Salesforce by 13.7% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 25,668 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $8,582,000 after buying an additional 3,102 shares during the period. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Salesforce by 12.6% during the fourth quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 1,827 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $611,000 after acquiring an additional 205 shares during the last quarter. Jump Financial LLC bought a new position in shares of Salesforce during the fourth quarter valued at about $361,000. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Salesforce by 36.0% during the fourth quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC now owns 1,346 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $450,000 after acquiring an additional 356 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Transce3nd LLC bought a new position in shares of Salesforce during the fourth quarter valued at about $384,000. 80.43% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CRM has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Northland Securities lowered their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $423.00 to $396.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 29th. Westpark Capital reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $320.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Wednesday, May 28th. BMO Capital Markets cut their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $350.00 to $335.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 10th. Barclays dropped their target price on shares of Salesforce from $347.00 to $316.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday. Finally, JMP Securities reiterated a “market outperform” rating and issued a $430.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Friday, July 11th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating, twenty-six have assigned a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $342.89.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Marc Benioff sold 2,250 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, July 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $260.30, for a total transaction of $585,675.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 11,955,566 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,112,033,829.80. This trade represents a 0.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Insiders have sold 48,782 shares of company stock worth $12,626,046 over the last three months. Company insiders own 3.00% of the company’s stock.

Salesforce Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE CRM opened at $244.15 on Tuesday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $259.85 and a 200-day moving average price of $274.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a current ratio of 1.07 and a quick ratio of 1.07. The stock has a market cap of $233.41 billion, a PE ratio of 38.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.20 and a beta of 1.37. Salesforce Inc. has a 1 year low of $226.48 and a 1 year high of $369.00.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last posted its 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. The company had revenue of $9.83 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.74 billion. Salesforce had a net margin of 16.08% and a return on equity of 12.94%. Salesforce’s quarterly revenue was up 7.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.44 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that Salesforce Inc. will post 7.46 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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 paid a dividend of $0.416 per share. This represents a $1.66 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, June 18th. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.