New York Life Investment Management LLC Decreases Stock Position in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

New York Life Investment Management LLC cut its position in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 0.2% during the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 146,290 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after selling 284 shares during the period. New York Life Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $37,611,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 186.7% during the 1st quarter. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. now owns 86 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 56 shares during the last quarter. Piscataqua Savings Bank boosted its stake in Salesforce by 2,400.0% during the second quarter. Piscataqua Savings Bank now owns 100 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 96 shares during the last quarter. Red Tortoise LLC purchased a new stake in Salesforce in the 1st quarter valued at $33,000. Stephens Consulting LLC increased its stake in shares of Salesforce by 3,125.0% in the 2nd quarter. Stephens Consulting LLC now owns 129 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 125 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Creekmur Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Salesforce during the 4th quarter worth $35,000. 80.43% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CRM has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Sanford C. Bernstein raised their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $234.00 to $236.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on shares of Salesforce from $265.00 to $305.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. Truist Financial reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $300.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Friday, August 30th. Citigroup lifted their target price on Salesforce from $260.00 to $290.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, August 26th. Finally, DA Davidson increased their price target on Salesforce from $230.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-seven have assigned a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $304.41.

Salesforce Stock Performance

Shares of CRM opened at $244.02 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $236.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 43.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 1.29. Salesforce, Inc. has a 52-week low of $193.68 and a 52-week high of $318.71. The company has a quick ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $254.52 and a 200 day moving average price of $269.79.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, August 28th. The CRM provider reported $2.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.36 by $0.20. Salesforce had a net margin of 15.44% and a return on equity of 12.01%. The business had revenue of $9.33 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.22 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.63 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.5% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.52 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 8th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, September 18th will be issued a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.66%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, September 18th. Salesforce’s payout ratio is currently 28.78%.

Insider Activity at Salesforce

In other Salesforce news, CEO Marc Benioff sold 15,000 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $241.74, for a total transaction of $3,626,100.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 12,162,457 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,940,152,355.18. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other news, CEO Marc Benioff sold 15,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $241.74, for a total value of $3,626,100.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 12,162,457 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,940,152,355.18. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 413 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $255.78, for a total transaction of $105,637.14. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 6,431 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,644,921.18. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 83,692 shares of company stock valued at $21,006,957 in the last three months. 3.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.