Optas LLC Cuts Stock Position in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Optas LLC cut its holdings in shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 8.6% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 7,135 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after selling 674 shares during the quarter. Optas LLC’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $1,834,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in Salesforce by 1.2% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 84,635,254 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $25,490,446,000 after acquiring an additional 1,008,841 shares during the period. Capital World Investors raised its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 2.4% in the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 19,561,325 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $5,147,402,000 after purchasing an additional 457,463 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in Salesforce by 5.3% in the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 14,921,042 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $3,926,323,000 after purchasing an additional 752,566 shares during the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors grew its holdings in Salesforce by 26.9% during the first quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 14,376,536 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $4,329,925,000 after purchasing an additional 3,044,611 shares during the period. Finally, Capital International Investors increased its position in Salesforce by 3.0% in the first quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 14,116,449 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $4,251,592,000 after buying an additional 407,834 shares during the last quarter. 80.43% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Salesforce Trading Up 2.1 %

CRM stock traded up $5.41 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $264.00. The company had a trading volume of 4,711,326 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,563,299. The stock has a market cap of $255.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 47.48, a PEG ratio of 2.22 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 has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $252.09 and its 200 day moving average price is $272.13.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last posted its quarterly 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 company had revenue of $9.13 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.15 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.15 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 10.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 25th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, July 9th were paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, July 9th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.61%. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 28.78%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CFO Amy E. Weaver sold 897 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $255.78, for a total value of $229,434.66. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 51,109 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,072,660.02. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, CEO Marc Benioff sold 15,000 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $269.32, for a total transaction of $4,039,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 12,437,327 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,349,620,907.64. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Amy E. Weaver sold 897 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $255.78, for a total transaction of $229,434.66. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 51,109 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,072,660.02. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 142,964 shares of company stock valued at $35,273,059 over the last quarter. 3.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently commented on CRM shares. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $345.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Thursday, May 30th. Evercore ISI reduced their target price on shares of Salesforce from $330.00 to $300.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price target on shares of Salesforce from $350.00 to $300.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 30th. Piper Sandler reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $250.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a report on Friday, July 12th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $350.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a report on Friday, May 24th. One 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Salesforce presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $291.50.

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.