FARMERS & MERCHANTS TRUST Co OF LONG BEACH Trims Stake in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

FARMERS & MERCHANTS TRUST Co OF LONG BEACH lessened its position in shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 8.5% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 4,846 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after selling 449 shares during the quarter. FARMERS & MERCHANTS TRUST Co OF LONG BEACH’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $1,620,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Infrastructure Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Salesforce during the third quarter worth approximately $27,000. Godsey & Gibb Inc. grew its position in Salesforce by 300.0% during the 3rd quarter. Godsey & Gibb Inc. now owns 120 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 90 shares during the last quarter. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL purchased a new position in Salesforce during the 2nd quarter worth $33,000. Annapolis Financial Services LLC raised its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 135.6% in the third quarter. Annapolis Financial Services LLC now owns 139 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $38,000 after buying an additional 80 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Friedenthal Financial acquired a new stake in shares of Salesforce during the fourth quarter worth about $55,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.43% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other Salesforce news, CFO Amy E. Weaver sold 6,221 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $329.88, for a total transaction of $2,052,183.48. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 45,861 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,128,626.68. The trade was a 11.94 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Parker Harris sold 4,200 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $288.82, for a total value of $1,213,044.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 118,514 shares in the company, valued at approximately $34,229,213.48. This trade represents a 3.42 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 1,183,838 shares of company stock valued at $405,595,158 in the last 90 days. 3.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Salesforce Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE CRM opened at $324.77 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 1.11. The company has a market cap of $310.81 billion, a PE ratio of 53.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $337.25 and a 200-day simple moving average of $291.08. Salesforce, Inc. has a 12 month low of $212.00 and a 12 month high of $369.00.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, December 3rd. The CRM provider reported $2.41 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.44 by ($0.03). Salesforce had a net margin of 15.96% and a return on equity of 12.34%. The business had revenue of $9.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.35 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.62 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 8.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.48 earnings per share for the current year.

Salesforce Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 9th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, December 18th were paid a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.49%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, December 18th. Salesforce’s payout ratio is 26.32%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have commented on the company. Barclays upped their price objective on Salesforce from $415.00 to $425.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Canaccord Genuity Group upped their price target on Salesforce from $315.00 to $415.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $340.00 to $380.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Cfra set a $343.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC lifted their target price on shares of Salesforce from $375.00 to $400.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, thirty-one have given a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $377.63.

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.