Industrial Alliance Investment Management Inc. Buys 218 Shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Industrial Alliance Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 3.9% in the first quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 5,791 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after buying an additional 218 shares during the period. Salesforce makes up about 0.7% of Industrial Alliance Investment Management Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 12th largest position. Industrial Alliance Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $1,744,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Salesforce in the 4th quarter worth $2,762,331,000. Capital International Investors raised its holdings in Salesforce by 76.4% during the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 13,708,615 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $3,607,493,000 after buying an additional 5,935,973 shares during the last quarter. Cerity Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Salesforce by 1,254.7% in the fourth quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 3,483,670 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $916,693,000 after buying an additional 3,226,512 shares in the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors grew its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 26.9% during the first quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 14,376,536 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $4,329,925,000 after buying an additional 3,044,611 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GQG Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Salesforce during the first quarter worth about $910,220,000. 80.43% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Marc Benioff sold 15,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $216.66, for a total value of $3,249,900.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 12,407,327 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,688,171,467.82. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, insider Parker Harris sold 4,200 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $276.93, for a total transaction of $1,163,106.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 115,762 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $32,057,970.66. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Marc Benioff sold 15,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $216.66, for a total value of $3,249,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 12,407,327 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,688,171,467.82. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 305,042 shares of company stock worth $81,019,465 in the last ninety days. 3.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on CRM shares. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price target on Salesforce from $350.00 to $300.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. Raymond James reiterated a “strong-buy” rating and set a $325.00 price target (down previously from $380.00) on shares of Salesforce in a report on Thursday, May 30th. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $350.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Friday, May 24th. DA Davidson reduced their target price on shares of Salesforce from $300.00 to $230.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note 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 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 issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $292.79.

Salesforce Price Performance

CRM traded down $0.68 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $257.91. 3,941,446 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,784,922. The company has a quick ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. The company has a market cap of $249.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 46.39, a P/E/G ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.29. Salesforce, Inc. has a 12-month low of $193.68 and a 12-month high of $318.71. The company’s 50-day moving average is $250.63 and its two-hundred day moving average is $275.47.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, May 29th. The CRM provider reported $2.44 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 analysts’ expectations of $9.15 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.15 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts forecast that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 25th. Investors of record on Tuesday, July 9th were given a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.62%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, July 9th. Salesforce’s payout ratio is 28.78%.

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.