First County Bank CT Sells 256 Shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

First County Bank CT cut its position in shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 4.1% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 6,026 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after selling 256 shares during the quarter. First County Bank CT’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $1,649,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Advisors Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Salesforce by 25.8% during the first quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 16,227 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $4,887,000 after purchasing an additional 3,327 shares during the last quarter. Gabelli Funds LLC grew its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 34.0% in the 1st quarter. Gabelli Funds LLC now owns 2,150 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $648,000 after acquiring an additional 545 shares in the last quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia Trust Co. increased its position in shares of Salesforce by 20.6% in the first quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia Trust Co. now owns 24,828 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $7,478,000 after acquiring an additional 4,249 shares during the last quarter. Steel Grove Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Salesforce in the first quarter valued at about $387,000. Finally, Kestra Advisory Services LLC raised its holdings in Salesforce by 0.6% during the first quarter. Kestra Advisory Services LLC now owns 96,649 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $29,109,000 after acquiring an additional 571 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.43% of the company’s stock.

Salesforce Stock Performance

Shares of Salesforce stock opened at $336.19 on Friday. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $292.86 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $268.20. The firm has a market capitalization of $321.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 58.47, a P/E/G ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 1.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a current ratio of 1.04 and a quick ratio of 1.04. Salesforce, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $212.00 and a fifty-two week high of $348.86.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 28th. The CRM provider reported $2.56 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.36 by $0.20. The business had revenue of $9.33 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.22 billion. Salesforce had a return on equity of 12.01% and a net margin of 15.44%. Salesforce’s quarterly revenue was up 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.63 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 8th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, September 18th were issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.48%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, September 18th. Salesforce’s payout ratio is 27.83%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Salesforce

In other Salesforce news, insider Sabastian Niles sold 2,484 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $244.81, for a total transaction of $608,108.04. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 828 shares in the company, valued at approximately $202,702.68. This trade represents a 75.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Parker Harris sold 4,200 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $262.90, for a total transaction of $1,104,180.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 117,581 shares in the company, valued at approximately $30,912,044.90. This represents a 3.45 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 133,183 shares of company stock worth $38,314,066. 3.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CRM has been the subject of several analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on shares of Salesforce from $350.00 to $400.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, November 11th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $320.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, October 28th. Phillip Securities reiterated an “accumulate” rating and issued a $305.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Friday, August 30th. Bank of America boosted their price target on Salesforce from $325.00 to $390.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Salesforce from $310.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-eight have given a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $329.11.

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.