Benson Investment Management Company Inc. Has $4.76 Million Stock Position in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Benson Investment Management Company Inc. trimmed its stake in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 14.8% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 15,797 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after selling 2,744 shares during the quarter. Salesforce accounts for 2.0% of Benson Investment Management Company Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 28th largest position. Benson Investment Management Company Inc.’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $4,758,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in CRM. Norges Bank bought a new position in Salesforce during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $2,762,331,000. Capital International Investors raised its position in Salesforce by 76.4% during the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 13,708,615 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $3,607,493,000 after acquiring an additional 5,935,973 shares in the last quarter. Cerity Partners LLC raised its position in Salesforce by 1,254.7% during the fourth quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 3,483,670 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $916,693,000 after acquiring an additional 3,226,512 shares in the last quarter. Coatue Management LLC bought a new position in Salesforce during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $564,188,000. Finally, DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main raised its position in Salesforce by 110.3% during the fourth quarter. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main now owns 3,394,912 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $893,336,000 after acquiring an additional 1,780,421 shares in the last quarter. 80.43% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Salesforce

In related news, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 2,425 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 23rd. The stock was 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 directly owns 5,856 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,599,566.40. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other Salesforce news, CFO Amy E. Weaver sold 942 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $305.46, for a total transaction of $287,743.32. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 39,416 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,040,011.36. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 2,425 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $273.15, for a total value of $662,388.75. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 5,856 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,599,566.40. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 575,989 shares of company stock worth $160,340,775. 3.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on CRM shares. Citigroup dropped their price target on shares of Salesforce from $323.00 to $260.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 30th. Piper Sandler dropped their price target on shares of Salesforce from $300.00 to $250.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 30th. Oppenheimer dropped their price target on shares of Salesforce from $325.00 to $280.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 30th. Robert W. Baird dropped their price target on shares of Salesforce from $355.00 to $295.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 30th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group dropped their price target on shares of Salesforce from $350.00 to $300.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 30th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating, twenty-five have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $292.79.

Salesforce Trading Up 1.3 %

NYSE:CRM traded up $3.26 on Friday, hitting $245.06. 15,928,785 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 13,763,672. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a current ratio of 1.11. The stock has a market capitalization of $237.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 44.08, a P/E/G ratio of 2.12 and a beta of 1.25. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $262.47 and its 200 day moving average price is $276.69. Salesforce, Inc. has a 52 week low of $193.68 and a 52 week high of $318.71.

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

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.