Virtu Financial LLC Makes New $859,000 Investment in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Virtu Financial LLC acquired a new position in shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 2,853 shares of the CRM provider’s stock, valued at approximately $859,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in CRM. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Salesforce in the 4th quarter worth about $2,762,331,000. Capital International Investors lifted 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 valued at $3,607,493,000 after purchasing an additional 5,935,973 shares during the last quarter. Cerity Partners LLC lifted its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 3,226,512 shares during the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors lifted its holdings in 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 purchasing an additional 3,044,611 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GQG Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Salesforce during the first quarter valued at about $910,220,000. 80.43% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Salesforce news, CFO Amy E. Weaver sold 897 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $255.78, for a total value of $229,434.66. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 51,109 shares in the company, valued at $13,072,660.02. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, CFO Amy E. Weaver sold 897 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $255.78, for a total transaction of $229,434.66. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 51,109 shares in the company, valued at $13,072,660.02. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Marc Benioff sold 15,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, May 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $286.90, for a total value of $4,303,500.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 12,512,327 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,589,786,616.30. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 279,242 shares of company stock valued at $73,931,941 over the last quarter. 3.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have commented on CRM. 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. JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market outperform” rating and set a $342.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a report on Monday, April 15th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $350.00 to $300.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 30th. DA Davidson decreased their price target on Salesforce from $300.00 to $230.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 30th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price target on Salesforce from $360.00 to $350.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 30th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating, twenty-five have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Salesforce has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $292.79.

Salesforce Stock Performance

NYSE:CRM opened at $243.90 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $236.34 billion, a PE ratio of 43.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 1.29. Salesforce, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $193.68 and a fifty-two week high of $318.71. 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 business has a 50 day moving average price of $248.53 and a 200-day moving average price of $274.91.

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

Salesforce Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 25th. Investors of record on Tuesday, July 9th were paid a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.66%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, July 9th. Salesforce’s payout ratio is 28.78%.

Salesforce Company 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.