1832 Asset Management L.P. Cuts Stock Position in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

1832 Asset Management L.P. decreased its position in shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 81.6% in the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 168,756 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after selling 748,218 shares during the period. 1832 Asset Management L.P.’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $43,387,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of CRM. Capital International Investors boosted its position in shares of Salesforce by 76.4% in the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 13,708,615 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $3,607,493,000 after purchasing an additional 5,935,973 shares in the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors boosted its holdings in Salesforce by 26.9% in the first quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 14,376,536 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $4,329,925,000 after acquiring an additional 3,044,611 shares in the last quarter. GQG Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Salesforce during the first quarter worth about $910,220,000. Swedbank AB purchased a new position in shares of Salesforce in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $874,748,000. Finally, Coatue Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Salesforce in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $564,188,000. 80.43% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Salesforce Stock Up 0.3 %

Shares of NYSE CRM opened at $266.80 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $258.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 47.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.26 and a beta of 1.29. Salesforce, Inc. has a 52-week low of $193.68 and a 52-week high of $318.71. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $254.14 and its 200-day simple moving average is $266.18. The company has a quick ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 28th. The CRM provider reported $2.56 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.36 by $0.20. The company had revenue of $9.33 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.22 billion. Salesforce had a return on equity of 12.01% and a net margin of 15.44%. Salesforce’s quarterly revenue was up 8.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.63 EPS. Equities analysts predict that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 8th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, September 18th will be paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, September 18th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.60%. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 28.78%.

Insider Transactions at Salesforce

In other news, insider Parker Harris sold 4,200 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $257.04, for a total value of $1,079,568.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 117,581 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $30,223,020.24. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other Salesforce news, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 413 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $255.78, for a total value of $105,637.14. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 6,431 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,644,921.18. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Parker Harris sold 4,200 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $257.04, for a total value of $1,079,568.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 117,581 shares in the company, valued at approximately $30,223,020.24. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 63,891 shares of company stock valued at $16,306,944 over the last 90 days. 3.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CRM has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Macquarie cut their price target on shares of Salesforce from $330.00 to $275.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 31st. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $300.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Thursday. Barclays dropped their price target on Salesforce from $355.00 to $305.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. Bank of America reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $325.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a report on Friday, September 6th. Finally, Oppenheimer upped their target price on Salesforce from $280.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-six have assigned a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Salesforce has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $306.00.

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.