Natixis Advisors LLC Has $301.21 Million Stock Holdings in Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Natixis Advisors LLC increased its position in Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 14.7% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 1,122,399 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 144,219 shares during the quarter. Salesforce makes up 0.6% of Natixis Advisors LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 27th largest position. Natixis Advisors LLC owned about 0.12% of Salesforce worth $301,207,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. bought a new stake in shares of Salesforce during the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. Accredited Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Salesforce in the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Wood Tarver Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in Salesforce during the fourth quarter worth approximately $35,000. Capital A Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 450.0% during the first quarter. Capital A Wealth Management LLC now owns 110 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 90 shares during the period. Finally, CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC grew its position in shares of Salesforce by 314.8% in 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. Institutional investors own 80.43% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Salesforce

In related news, insider Srinivas Tallapragada sold 6,697 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $295.00, for a total transaction of $1,975,615.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 41,422 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,219,490. This trade represents a 13.92% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Marc Benioff sold 2,250 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $271.69, for a total value of $611,302.50. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 11,862,457 shares in the company, valued at $3,222,910,942.33. The trade was a 0.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 37,979 shares of company stock valued at $10,303,399. Corporate insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

Salesforce Stock Down 1.0%

Shares of NYSE:CRM opened at $267.47 on Wednesday. Salesforce Inc. has a 52-week low of $230.00 and a 52-week high of $369.00. The company has a market capitalization of $255.70 billion, a PE ratio of 41.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 1.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a current ratio of 1.07. The company has a fifty day moving average of $267.33 and a 200-day moving average of $283.24.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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%. Salesforce’s quarterly revenue was up 7.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.44 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Salesforce Inc. will post 7.46 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 10th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, June 18th were issued a dividend of $0.416 per share. This represents a $1.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.62%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, June 18th. Salesforce’s payout ratio is 25.98%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently weighed in on CRM. Canaccord Genuity Group dropped their price target on Salesforce from $400.00 to $350.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, May 28th. Guggenheim raised Salesforce from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, April 21st. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Salesforce from $255.00 to $275.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 29th. Citigroup dropped their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $320.00 to $295.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 30th. Finally, Oppenheimer reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $370.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a report on Tuesday, June 10th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, twenty-seven have given a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Salesforce currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $348.16.

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.