Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) Shares Sold by Virtus Investment Advisers Inc.

Virtus Investment Advisers Inc. cut its holdings in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 9.6% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 376 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after selling 40 shares during the quarter. Virtus Investment Advisers Inc.’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $113,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Oxford Wealth Group LLC purchased a new position in Salesforce during the first quarter worth about $817,000. Whalerock Point Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Salesforce by 2.4% during the 1st quarter. Whalerock Point Partners LLC now owns 16,189 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $4,876,000 after buying an additional 375 shares during the last quarter. Industrial Alliance Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Salesforce by 3.9% during the 1st quarter. Industrial Alliance Investment Management Inc. now owns 5,791 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $1,744,000 after buying an additional 218 shares during the last quarter. Interval Partners LP lifted its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 157.1% in the 1st quarter. Interval Partners LP now owns 36,000 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $10,842,000 after purchasing an additional 22,000 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC lifted its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 3.4% in the 1st quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 648,753 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $195,189,000 after purchasing an additional 21,298 shares during the last quarter. 80.43% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Salesforce Price Performance

Shares of NYSE CRM traded up $0.33 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $258.26. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 2,385,020 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,755,102. 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, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $193.68 and a fifty-two week high of $318.71. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $250.11 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $275.37. The company has a market cap of $250.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 46.79, a P/E/G ratio of 2.27 and a beta of 1.29.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 29th. The CRM provider reported $2.44 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.38 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $9.13 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.15 billion. Salesforce had a net margin of 15.30% and a return on equity of 11.57%. The company’s revenue was up 10.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.15 earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 25th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, July 9th were given a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, July 9th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.62%. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 28.78%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Salesforce

In other Salesforce news, CFO Amy E. Weaver sold 897 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, the chief financial officer now owns 51,109 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,072,660.02. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, CFO Amy E. Weaver sold 897 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 owns 51,109 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,072,660.02. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Marc Benioff sold 15,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $286.90, for a total transaction of $4,303,500.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 12,512,327 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,589,786,616.30. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 290,042 shares of company stock valued at $76,976,515. 3.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CRM has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price target on Salesforce from $360.00 to $350.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 30th. Macquarie reduced their price target on Salesforce from $330.00 to $275.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 31st. Mizuho reduced their price target on Salesforce from $345.00 to $300.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 30th. Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their price objective on Salesforce from $231.00 to $234.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut their price target on Salesforce from $350.00 to $320.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company 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 given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $292.79.

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.