DB Fitzpatrick & Co Inc Has $1.31 Million Stock Holdings in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

DB Fitzpatrick & Co Inc grew its stake in shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 31.1% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 5,093 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,209 shares during the quarter. Salesforce comprises about 1.2% of DB Fitzpatrick & Co Inc’s portfolio, making the stock its 28th biggest holding. DB Fitzpatrick & Co Inc’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $1,309,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Marc Benioff sold 15,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, 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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, CEO Marc Benioff sold 15,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $216.66, for a total value of $3,249,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 12,407,327 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,688,171,467.82. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Parker Harris sold 4,200 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $285.20, for a total transaction of $1,197,840.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 115,762 shares in the company, valued at approximately $33,015,322.40. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 202,136 shares of company stock valued at $52,228,109 over the last ninety days. 3.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Salesforce Trading Up 3.0 %

CRM traded up $7.57 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $262.89. 5,166,158 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,634,521. The firm has a market capitalization of $254.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 46.96, a P/E/G ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 1.29. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $248.65 and its 200-day moving average price is $273.27. The company has a quick ratio of 1.11, a current 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 released its earnings results 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. 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 the consensus estimate of $9.15 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.15 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Dividend Announcement

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on CRM. BMO Capital Markets lowered their target price on Salesforce from $335.00 to $265.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. Oppenheimer reduced their target price on shares of Salesforce from $325.00 to $280.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 30th. Evercore ISI lowered their price target on shares of Salesforce from $330.00 to $300.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 30th. Canaccord Genuity Group cut their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $350.00 to $300.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 30th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lowered their target price on shares of Salesforce from $350.00 to $300.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 30th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating, twenty-five have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus 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.