Los Angeles Capital Management LLC Cuts Stock Position in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Los Angeles Capital Management LLC lessened its holdings in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 26.8% in the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 894,047 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after selling 327,691 shares during the period. Salesforce accounts for approximately 0.8% of Los Angeles Capital Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 20th biggest position. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC owned about 0.09% of Salesforce worth $229,859,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. increased its stake in Salesforce by 186.7% in the 1st quarter. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. now owns 86 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 56 shares in the last quarter. Piscataqua Savings Bank boosted its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 2,400.0% during the 2nd quarter. Piscataqua Savings Bank now owns 100 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 96 shares during the last quarter. Red Tortoise LLC bought a new position in shares of Salesforce during the 1st quarter valued at about $33,000. Stephens Consulting LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 3,125.0% during the 2nd quarter. Stephens Consulting LLC now owns 129 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 125 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Creekmur Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Salesforce during the 4th quarter valued at about $35,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.43% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have commented on CRM. BNP Paribas raised shares of Salesforce to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Oppenheimer increased their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $280.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Mizuho dropped their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $345.00 to $300.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 30th. Phillip Securities reissued an “accumulate” rating and set a $305.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a report on Friday, August 30th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on shares of Salesforce from $300.00 to $320.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-seven have assigned a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $304.41.

Salesforce Trading Down 0.9 %

NYSE:CRM traded down $2.15 on Friday, hitting $243.97. The stock had a trading volume of 6,259,431 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,604,331. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $254.52 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $269.79. The company has a quick ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. Salesforce, Inc. has a 1-year low of $193.68 and a 1-year high of $318.71. The stock has a market cap of $236.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 43.89, a PEG ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 1.29.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 28th. The CRM provider reported $2.56 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.36 by $0.20. Salesforce had a net margin of 15.44% and a return on equity of 12.01%. The business had revenue of $9.33 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.22 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.63 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 8.5% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.52 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 8th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, September 18th will be issued a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.66%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, September 18th. Salesforce’s payout ratio is 28.78%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Marc Benioff sold 15,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $241.74, for a total transaction of $3,626,100.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 12,162,457 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,940,152,355.18. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other Salesforce news, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 413 shares of the business’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 $105,637.14. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 6,431 shares in the company, valued at $1,644,921.18. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Marc Benioff sold 15,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $241.74, for a total transaction of $3,626,100.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 12,162,457 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,940,152,355.18. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 83,692 shares of company stock valued at $21,006,957 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

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.