Avanza Fonder AB Has $15.24 Million Stock Position in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Avanza Fonder AB lowered its holdings in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 10.9% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 56,117 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after selling 6,872 shares during the quarter. Salesforce accounts for about 0.5% of Avanza Fonder AB’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 29th largest position. Avanza Fonder AB’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $15,238,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Sonora Investment Management Group LLC grew its holdings in Salesforce by 36.0% in the 1st quarter. Sonora Investment Management Group LLC now owns 30,694 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $8,237,000 after buying an additional 8,121 shares during the last quarter. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt grew its holdings in Salesforce by 71.0% in the 1st quarter. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt now owns 26,021 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $6,980,000 after buying an additional 10,800 shares during the last quarter. Crescent Sterling Ltd. grew its holdings in Salesforce by 79.1% in the 1st quarter. Crescent Sterling Ltd. now owns 3,078 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $826,000 after buying an additional 1,359 shares during the last quarter. Accurate Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in Salesforce by 7.7% in the 1st quarter. Accurate Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,676 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $1,194,000 after buying an additional 336 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ayrshire Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Salesforce by 2.1% in the 1st quarter. Ayrshire Capital Management LLC now owns 5,120 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $1,374,000 after buying an additional 106 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.43% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have issued reports on CRM shares. Piper Sandler raised their target price on Salesforce from $315.00 to $335.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 28th. Stephens cut their target price on Salesforce from $311.00 to $309.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 30th. Sanford C. Bernstein raised their target price on Salesforce from $243.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 29th. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $404.00 target price (up from $393.00) on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Thursday, May 29th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group reduced their target price on Salesforce from $400.00 to $350.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, May 28th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating, twenty-seven have assigned a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Salesforce currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $346.34.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 500 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $275.00, for a total value of $137,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 11,711 shares in the company, valued at $3,220,525. This trade represents a 4.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Srinivas Tallapragada sold 6,697 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $295.00, for a total value of $1,975,615.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 41,422 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,219,490. The trade was a 13.92% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 40,332 shares of company stock worth $11,024,802 over the last three months. 3.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Salesforce Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:CRM opened at $272.36 on Tuesday. Salesforce, Inc. has a twelve month low of $227.77 and a twelve month high of $369.00. The firm has a market cap of $260.38 billion, a PE ratio of 44.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 1.38. 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 fifty day moving average of $266.57 and a 200-day moving average of $301.70.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 28th. The CRM provider reported $2.58 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.55 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $9.83 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.74 billion. Salesforce had a return on equity of 12.34% and a net margin of 15.96%. The company’s revenue was up 7.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.44 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.46 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 10th. Investors of record on Wednesday, June 18th will be given a $0.416 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, June 18th. This represents a $1.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.61%. Salesforce’s payout ratio is 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.