Handelsbanken Fonder AB Increases Stock Position in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Handelsbanken Fonder AB raised its position in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 6.5% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 378,112 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 22,986 shares during the quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $101,470,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of CRM. Petredis Investment Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Salesforce by 1.2% during the first quarter. Petredis Investment Advisors LLC now owns 19,901 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $5,341,000 after buying an additional 234 shares during the period. Sanibel Captiva Trust Company Inc. boosted its position in shares of Salesforce by 0.3% during the first quarter. Sanibel Captiva Trust Company Inc. now owns 127,175 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $34,129,000 after buying an additional 349 shares during the last quarter. Central Valley Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Salesforce by 6.1% in the 1st quarter. Central Valley Advisors LLC now owns 6,981 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $1,873,000 after buying an additional 401 shares in the last quarter. Curated Wealth Partners LLC raised its position in Salesforce by 38.0% in the 1st quarter. Curated Wealth Partners LLC now owns 1,299 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $349,000 after buying an additional 358 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sonora Investment Management Group LLC lifted its stake in Salesforce by 36.0% during the 1st quarter. Sonora Investment Management Group LLC now owns 30,694 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $8,237,000 after acquiring an additional 8,121 shares during the period. 80.43% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Srinivas Tallapragada sold 6,697 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $295.00, for a total value of $1,975,615.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 41,422 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,219,490. The trade was a 13.92% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Miguel Milano sold 705 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $279.44, for a total value of $197,005.20. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 9,323 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,605,219.12. This trade represents a 7.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 40,332 shares of company stock valued at $11,024,802. 3.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CRM has been the topic of several research reports. Bank of America dropped their target price on shares of Salesforce from $440.00 to $400.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Scotiabank reduced their price objective on Salesforce from $400.00 to $345.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, March 17th. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their target price on Salesforce from $425.00 to $375.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, March 31st. Macquarie reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $320.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Salesforce from $255.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 29th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating, twenty-seven have given a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $346.34.

Salesforce Trading Down 0.8%

NYSE:CRM opened at $272.36 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $260.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 44.80, a PEG ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 1.38. 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 12 month low of $227.77 and a 12 month high of $369.00. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $266.57 and a 200-day simple moving average of $301.70.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 28th. The CRM provider reported $2.58 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.55 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $9.83 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.74 billion. Salesforce had a return on equity of 12.34% and a net margin of 15.96%. The firm’s revenue was up 7.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.44 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.46 earnings per share for the current year.

Salesforce Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 10th. Investors of record on Wednesday, June 18th will be issued a $0.416 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, June 18th. This represents a $1.66 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.61%. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 25.98%.

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.