Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) is Sciencast Management LP’s 9th Largest Position

Sciencast Management LP raised its stake in shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 8.7% during the first quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 6,438 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 514 shares during the quarter. Salesforce makes up about 1.2% of Sciencast Management LP’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 9th largest position. Sciencast Management LP’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $1,939,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in CRM. Graypoint LLC boosted its stake in shares of Salesforce by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Graypoint LLC now owns 10,504 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $2,764,000 after buying an additional 36 shares during the period. Chase Investment Counsel Corp lifted its stake in Salesforce by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Chase Investment Counsel Corp now owns 10,377 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $2,730,000 after acquiring an additional 36 shares during the last quarter. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Salesforce by 11.4% during the 4th quarter. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 353 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $93,000 after acquiring an additional 36 shares in the last quarter. Opes Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of Salesforce by 2.9% in the 4th quarter. Opes Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,295 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $341,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Prentice Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Salesforce by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. Prentice Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,294 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $604,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.43% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Salesforce

In related news, CEO Marc Benioff sold 15,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $216.66, for a total transaction of $3,249,900.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 12,407,327 shares in the company, valued at $2,688,171,467.82. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other Salesforce news, CEO Marc Benioff sold 15,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $216.66, for a total value of $3,249,900.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 12,407,327 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,688,171,467.82. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 2,425 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $273.15, for a total transaction of $662,388.75. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 5,856 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,599,566.40. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 439,152 shares of company stock valued at $118,115,911. 3.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently commented on CRM. 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 report on Thursday, May 30th. Citigroup cut their target price on Salesforce from $323.00 to $260.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 30th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price target on Salesforce from $360.00 to $350.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $310.00 to $300.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 30th. Finally, Macquarie lowered their target price on shares of Salesforce from $330.00 to $275.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 31st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating, twenty-five have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $292.79.

Salesforce Price Performance

CRM traded up $3.04 during trading on Friday, reaching $254.16. 4,704,981 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,925,891. Salesforce, Inc. has a 1 year low of $193.68 and a 1 year high of $318.71. The company has a market capitalization of $246.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 45.71, a P/E/G ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 1.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 1.11. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $256.43 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $275.81.

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, topping 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 last year, the company posted $1.15 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 10.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.47 earnings per share for the current year.

Salesforce Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 25th. Investors of record on Tuesday, July 9th will be paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.63%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, July 9th. Salesforce’s payout ratio is currently 28.78%.

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.