Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) Shares Sold by Hills Bank & Trust Co

Hills Bank & Trust Co lowered its position in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 1.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 16,731 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after selling 178 shares during the period. Hills Bank & Trust Co’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $4,403,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in Salesforce by 5.3% in the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 14,921,042 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $3,926,323,000 after buying an additional 752,566 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp lifted its holdings in Salesforce by 1.1% in the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 11,195,108 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $2,270,144,000 after acquiring an additional 121,436 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in Salesforce by 2.8% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 5,397,516 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $1,420,302,000 after acquiring an additional 145,625 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company raised its position in Salesforce by 7.1% in the third quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 4,678,330 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $948,676,000 after purchasing an additional 309,881 shares during the period. Finally, Cerity Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Salesforce by 1,254.7% in the 4th quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 3,483,670 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $916,693,000 after purchasing an additional 3,226,512 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.43% of the company’s stock.

Salesforce Stock Performance

Shares of CRM stock traded up $0.51 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $275.68. The company had a trading volume of 1,645,332 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,449,974. The stock has a market cap of $266.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 65.84, a PEG ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a current ratio of 1.09 and a quick ratio of 1.09. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $292.20 and its 200 day simple moving average is $268.12. Salesforce, Inc. has a 52-week low of $193.68 and a 52-week high of $318.71.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 28th. The CRM provider reported $1.78 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.72 by $0.06. Salesforce had a net margin of 11.87% and a return on equity of 10.42%. The company had revenue of $9.29 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.22 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.01 EPS. Salesforce’s revenue was up 10.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 11th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 14th were issued a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 13th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.58%. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio is currently 9.52%.

Insider Activity at Salesforce

In other news, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 2,425 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $273.15, for a total value of $662,388.75. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 5,856 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,599,566.40. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, COO Brian Millham sold 24,453 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $302.08, for a total value of $7,386,762.24. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 2,425 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $273.15, for a total transaction of $662,388.75. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 5,856 shares in the company, valued at $1,599,566.40. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 624,193 shares of company stock worth $182,005,898 over the last three months. 3.70% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have weighed in on CRM. Piper Sandler reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $300.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Monday, April 15th. StockNews.com cut Salesforce from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 19th. Oppenheimer increased their target price on Salesforce from $300.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 12th. Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on shares of Salesforce from $310.00 to $355.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 29th. Finally, Wolfe Research reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $365.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Tuesday, April 16th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-four have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $310.61.

About Salesforce

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.