Albion Financial Group UT Acquires 641 Shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Albion Financial Group UT raised its position in shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 8.8% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 7,891 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 641 shares during the period. Albion Financial Group UT’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $2,377,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of CRM. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Salesforce during the 4th quarter valued at $2,762,331,000. Capital International Investors raised 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 acquiring an additional 5,935,973 shares in the last quarter. Cerity Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Salesforce by 1,254.7% in the 4th quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 3,483,670 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $916,693,000 after acquiring an additional 3,226,512 shares in the last quarter. Coatue Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Salesforce in the 4th quarter worth $564,188,000. Finally, DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main raised its position in shares of Salesforce by 110.3% in the 4th quarter. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main now owns 3,394,912 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $893,336,000 after acquiring an additional 1,780,421 shares in the last quarter. 80.43% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Salesforce

In other Salesforce news, CEO Marc Benioff sold 15,000 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $302.03, for a total transaction of $4,530,450.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 12,936,166 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,907,110,216.98. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other Salesforce news, CEO Marc Benioff sold 15,000 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $302.03, for a total transaction of $4,530,450.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 12,936,166 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,907,110,216.98. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, COO Brian Millham sold 2,018 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $260.00, for a total value of $524,680.00. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 494,952 shares of company stock worth $135,205,453. Company insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

Salesforce Trading Up 1.9 %

Shares of NYSE CRM traded up $4.76 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $260.95. The stock had a trading volume of 4,755,525 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,945,109. Salesforce, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $193.68 and a fifty-two week high of $318.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a current ratio of 1.11. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $259.03 and its 200-day moving average price is $276.43. The company has a market cap of $252.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 46.90, a PEG ratio of 2.26 and a beta of 1.29.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 29th. The CRM provider reported $2.44 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.38 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $9.13 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.15 billion. Salesforce had a return on equity of 11.57% and a net margin of 15.30%. The company’s revenue was up 10.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.15 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 25th. Investors of record on Tuesday, July 9th will be issued a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, July 9th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.61%. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 7.19%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently commented on CRM. Barclays reduced their price target on Salesforce from $355.00 to $305.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 30th. Canaccord Genuity Group dropped their target price on Salesforce from $350.00 to $300.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on Salesforce from $350.00 to $320.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. KeyCorp assumed coverage on Salesforce in a research note on Thursday, March 21st. They set a “sector weight” rating on the stock. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their target price on Salesforce from $350.00 to $300.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating, twenty-five have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Salesforce presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $292.79.

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.