Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM) Stake Lessened by American Century Companies Inc.

American Century Companies Inc. cut its position in shares of Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 7.0% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 3,544,421 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after selling 266,933 shares during the quarter. Salesforce accounts for about 0.6% of American Century Companies Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 18th largest holding. American Century Companies Inc. owned about 0.37% of Salesforce worth $951,181,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. bought a new position in shares of Salesforce in the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. Accredited Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Salesforce in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Wood Tarver Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in Salesforce in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Capital A Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in Salesforce by 450.0% in the first quarter. Capital A Wealth Management LLC now owns 110 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 90 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC grew its holdings in Salesforce by 314.8% during the first quarter. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 112 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 85 shares during the last quarter. 80.43% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have commented on the company. Sanford C. Bernstein increased their price target on Salesforce from $243.00 to $255.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a report on Thursday, May 29th. Guggenheim upgraded Salesforce from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, April 21st. Mizuho cut their price target on Salesforce from $425.00 to $380.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 15th. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price target on Salesforce from $375.00 to $325.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Citigroup cut their price target on Salesforce from $320.00 to $295.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 30th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, twenty-seven have issued a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $346.84.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Marc Benioff sold 2,250 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $234.64, for a total transaction of $527,940.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 11,911,571 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,794,931,019.44. This represents a 0.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 46,532 shares of company stock worth $12,082,694. Company insiders own 3.00% of the company’s stock.

Salesforce Trading Down 1.5%

NYSE CRM opened at $233.37 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $223.10 billion, a PE ratio of 36.52, a PEG ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 1.37. The company has a current ratio of 1.07, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. Salesforce Inc. has a 12 month low of $226.48 and a 12 month high of $369.00. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $261.05 and a 200-day moving average of $276.65.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, May 28th. The CRM provider reported $2.58 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.55 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $9.83 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.74 billion. Salesforce had a return on equity of 12.94% and a net margin of 16.08%. The firm’s revenue was up 7.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.44 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Salesforce Inc. will post 7.46 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 10th. Investors of record on Wednesday, June 18th were issued a dividend of $0.416 per share. This represents a $1.66 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, June 18th. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 25.98%.

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.