Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) Shares Bought by Cohen Capital Management Inc.

Cohen Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 1.8% in the first quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 24,791 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 432 shares during the quarter. Salesforce comprises approximately 1.3% of Cohen Capital Management Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 24th largest position. Cohen Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $7,467,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in CRM. Harbour Investments Inc. raised its holdings in Salesforce by 38.4% in the 3rd quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 1,927 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $391,000 after buying an additional 535 shares during the period. Diversified Trust Co lifted its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 13.2% in the 3rd quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 13,297 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $2,696,000 after acquiring an additional 1,553 shares during the last quarter. Kampmann Melissa S. purchased a new position in shares of Salesforce during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $2,201,000. Carlson Capital Management acquired a new stake in Salesforce in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $301,000. Finally, Comerica Bank raised its position in Salesforce by 12,854.4% in the third quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 231,236 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $46,890,000 after purchasing an additional 229,451 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.43% of the company’s stock.

Salesforce Stock Performance

CRM stock traded down $1.38 on Thursday, hitting $251.21. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 5,341,963 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,942,691. The stock has a market cap of $243.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 45.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.26 and a beta of 1.29. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $256.82 and a two-hundred day moving average of $275.90. The company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. Salesforce, Inc. has a 1 year low of $193.68 and a 1 year high of $318.71.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, May 29th. The CRM provider reported $2.44 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.38 by $0.06. Salesforce had a net margin of 15.30% and a return on equity of 11.57%. The business had revenue of $9.13 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.15 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.15 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 10.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities 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. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, July 9th will be paid a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, July 9th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.64%. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 28.78%.

Insider Activity

In other Salesforce news, CEO Marc Benioff sold 15,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, April 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $295.74, for a total transaction of $4,436,100.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 12,928,721 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,823,539,948.54. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 2,425 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $273.15, for a total value of $662,388.75. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 5,856 shares in the company, valued at $1,599,566.40. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Marc Benioff sold 15,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, April 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $295.74, for a total value of $4,436,100.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 12,928,721 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,823,539,948.54. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 454,152 shares of company stock valued at $122,552,011. Company insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CRM has been the subject of a number of research reports. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on Salesforce from $350.00 to $320.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. Oppenheimer cut their price target on shares of Salesforce from $325.00 to $280.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. Canaccord Genuity Group lowered their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $350.00 to $300.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. Wolfe Research restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $365.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a report on Tuesday, April 16th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on shares of Salesforce from $310.00 to $300.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 30th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating, twenty-five have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $292.79.

Salesforce Company 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.