Summit Global Investments Has $574,000 Stock Position in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Summit Global Investments boosted its stake in shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 68.1% during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 2,233 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 905 shares during the period. Summit Global Investments’ holdings in Salesforce were worth $574,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CRM. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. boosted its position in Salesforce by 186.7% during the first quarter. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. now owns 86 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 56 shares during the last quarter. Signature Resources Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Salesforce in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Piscataqua Savings Bank increased its holdings in Salesforce by 2,400.0% in 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 bought a new position in Salesforce during the first quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Finally, Creekmur Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in Salesforce in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.43% of the company’s stock.

Salesforce Price Performance

NYSE:CRM traded down $3.54 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $261.84. 5,305,682 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 6,595,926. The firm has a market cap of $253.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 47.09, a P/E/G ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 1.29. 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 business’s fifty day simple moving average is $250.35 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $272.57. Salesforce, Inc. has a 52 week low of $193.68 and a 52 week high of $318.71.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 29th. The CRM provider reported $2.44 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.38 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $9.13 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.15 billion. Salesforce had a return on equity of 11.57% and a net margin of 15.30%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.15 earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate 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 issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.61%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, July 9th. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio is currently 28.78%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Marc Benioff sold 15,000 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 12,407,327 shares in the company, valued at $2,688,171,467.82. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other Salesforce news, CEO Marc Benioff sold 15,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 owns 12,407,327 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,688,171,467.82. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, COO Brian Millham sold 6,162 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $283.41, for a total transaction of $1,746,372.42. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 167,936 shares of company stock worth $42,433,769 in the last 90 days. 3.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on CRM shares. Wedbush cut their price target on shares of Salesforce from $325.00 to $315.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, May 29th. 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 research note on Thursday, May 30th. Piper Sandler reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $250.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a report on Friday, July 12th. Truist Financial restated a “buy” rating and issued a $300.00 target price (down from $360.00) on shares of Salesforce in a report on Thursday, May 30th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $350.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a report on Friday, May 24th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating, twenty-five have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Salesforce has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $291.50.

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.