Texas Permanent School Fund Corp Has $60.27 Million Stock Position in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Texas Permanent School Fund Corp reduced its holdings in shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 0.4% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 200,111 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after selling 800 shares during the quarter. Salesforce accounts for about 0.5% of Texas Permanent School Fund Corp’s holdings, making the stock its 25th biggest position. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $60,269,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Bear Mountain Capital Inc. purchased a new position in Salesforce in the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. Signature Resources Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Salesforce in the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. Kathleen S. Wright Associates Inc. purchased a new stake in Salesforce during the 4th quarter worth about $31,000. Pacifica Partners Inc. boosted its stake in Salesforce by 333.3% in the 4th quarter. Pacifica Partners Inc. now owns 130 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the period. Finally, Red Tortoise LLC purchased a new position in Salesforce during the 1st quarter valued at about $33,000. 80.43% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Salesforce

In related news, CFO Amy E. Weaver sold 5,864 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $274.77, for a total transaction of $1,611,251.28. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 45,231 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,428,121.87. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other Salesforce news, CFO Amy E. Weaver sold 5,864 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $274.77, for a total value of $1,611,251.28. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 45,231 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,428,121.87. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Srinivas Tallapragada sold 942 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $242.32, for a total transaction of $228,265.44. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 22,154 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,368,357.28. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 454,152 shares of company stock valued at $122,552,011 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

Salesforce Stock Down 0.5 %

Shares of CRM stock traded down $1.38 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $251.21. 5,341,963 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 6,942,691. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $257.24 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $276.07. Salesforce, Inc. has a 12-month low of $193.68 and a 12-month high of $318.71. The stock has a market cap of $243.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 45.44, a PEG ratio of 2.26 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.

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

Salesforce Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 25th. Investors of record on Tuesday, July 9th will be given a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.64%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, July 9th. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 28.78%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on CRM shares. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $350.00 to $300.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 30th. Barclays reduced their price target on shares of Salesforce from $355.00 to $305.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 30th. Mizuho lowered their price objective on Salesforce from $345.00 to $300.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 30th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on Salesforce from $350.00 to $320.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 30th. Finally, Wolfe Research reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $365.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th. One research 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 issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $292.79.

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.