First Long Island Investors LLC Makes New $19.18 Million Investment in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

First Long Island Investors LLC bought a new stake in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 63,666 shares of the CRM provider’s stock, valued at approximately $19,175,000. Salesforce comprises approximately 1.6% of First Long Island Investors LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 27th largest holding.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of CRM. Bear Mountain Capital Inc. acquired a new stake in Salesforce during the 4th quarter worth $26,000. Signature Resources Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Salesforce during the 4th quarter worth $26,000. Red Tortoise LLC acquired a new stake in Salesforce during the 1st quarter worth $33,000. Kathleen S. Wright Associates Inc. acquired a new stake in Salesforce during the 4th quarter worth $31,000. Finally, BKM Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Salesforce during the 4th quarter worth $34,000. Institutional investors own 80.43% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CRM has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. 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. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $345.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a report on Thursday, May 30th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Salesforce from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 19th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their target price 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. Finally, Citigroup reduced their target price on shares of Salesforce from $323.00 to $260.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating, twenty-five have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Salesforce has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $292.79.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 2,425 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $273.15, for a total transaction of $662,388.75. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 5,856 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,599,566.40. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 2,425 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $273.15, for a total value of $662,388.75. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 5,856 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,599,566.40. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Amy E. Weaver sold 5,864 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $274.77, for a total transaction of $1,611,251.28. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 45,231 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,428,121.87. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 454,152 shares of company stock worth $122,552,011. Corporate insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

Salesforce Stock Performance

CRM traded down $1.38 on Thursday, reaching $251.21. The company had a trading volume of 5,341,963 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,942,691. The company’s fifty day moving average is $256.82 and its 200 day moving average is $275.90. Salesforce, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $193.68 and a fifty-two week high of $318.71. The stock has a market cap of $243.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 45.18, a P/E/G ratio of 2.26 and a beta of 1.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a current ratio of 1.11.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, May 29th. The CRM provider reported $2.44 earnings per share (EPS) 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 firm had revenue of $9.13 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.15 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.15 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 10.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts predict that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 25th. Investors of record on Tuesday, July 9th will be given a dividend of $0.40 per share. 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 is 28.78%.

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.