Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) Shares Acquired by AMI Asset Management Corp

AMI Asset Management Corp boosted its position in shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 2.7% in the first quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 244,061 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 6,532 shares during the period. Salesforce accounts for 3.8% of AMI Asset Management Corp’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 7th biggest holding. AMI Asset Management Corp’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $73,506,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of CRM. Bear Mountain Capital Inc. acquired a new position in Salesforce during the 4th quarter worth $26,000. Signature Resources Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Salesforce during the 4th quarter worth $26,000. Kathleen S. Wright Associates Inc. bought a new position in shares of Salesforce during the 4th quarter worth about $31,000. Pacifica Partners Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 333.3% during the 4th quarter. Pacifica Partners Inc. now owns 130 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the period. Finally, Red Tortoise LLC bought a new position in shares of Salesforce during the 1st quarter worth about $33,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.43% of the company’s stock.

Salesforce Trading Up 1.9 %

NYSE CRM traded up $4.76 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $260.95. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 4,755,729 shares, compared to its average volume of 9,006,645. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $258.72 and a 200 day moving average of $276.32. Salesforce, Inc. has a twelve month low of $193.68 and a twelve month high of $318.71. The firm has a market capitalization of $252.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 46.93, a PEG ratio of 2.25 and a beta of 1.29. The company has a quick ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14.

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

Salesforce Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 25th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, July 9th will be paid a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.61%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, July 9th. Salesforce’s payout ratio is presently 7.19%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Salesforce

In other Salesforce news, CEO Marc Benioff sold 15,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $300.14, for a total value of $4,502,100.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 12,951,166 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,887,162,963.24. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, Director G Mason Morfit acquired 428,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 3rd. The stock was bought at an average price of $233.17 per share, with a total value of $99,796,760.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 3,914,309 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $912,699,429.53. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Marc Benioff sold 15,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, April 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $300.14, for a total transaction of $4,502,100.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 12,951,166 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,887,162,963.24. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 499,152 shares of company stock valued at $136,281,661. Corporate insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Piper Sandler dropped their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $300.00 to $250.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 30th. Macquarie dropped their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $330.00 to $275.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 31st. Oppenheimer dropped their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $325.00 to $280.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 30th. TD Cowen dropped their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $330.00 to $285.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 30th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $345.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a research note 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 issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Salesforce presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $292.79.

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.