Montecito Bank & Trust Purchases 477 Shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Montecito Bank & Trust increased its position in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 12.6% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 4,270 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after buying an additional 477 shares during the quarter. Montecito Bank & Trust’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $1,428,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Apeiron RIA LLC bought a new position in shares of Salesforce in the fourth quarter worth about $264,000. Secure Asset Management LLC raised its stake in Salesforce by 5.5% during the 4th quarter. Secure Asset Management LLC now owns 7,351 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $2,458,000 after purchasing an additional 380 shares during the period. Red Door Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in Salesforce by 7.5% in the 4th quarter. Red Door Wealth Management LLC now owns 20,680 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $6,914,000 after purchasing an additional 1,451 shares in the last quarter. Donoghue Forlines LLC boosted its stake in Salesforce by 35.2% in the 4th quarter. Donoghue Forlines LLC now owns 6,021 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $2,013,000 after purchasing an additional 1,567 shares during the period. Finally, Madrona Financial Services LLC grew its holdings in Salesforce by 7.7% during the 4th quarter. Madrona Financial Services LLC now owns 995 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $333,000 after buying an additional 71 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.43% of the company’s stock.

Salesforce Stock Up 0.6 %

Shares of Salesforce stock opened at $334.75 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 stock has a market cap of $320.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 55.06, a PEG ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 1.30. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $336.50 and its two-hundred day moving average is $293.20. Salesforce, Inc. has a 1 year low of $212.00 and a 1 year high of $369.00.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, December 3rd. The CRM provider reported $2.41 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.44 by ($0.03). The business had revenue of $9.44 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.35 billion. Salesforce had a net margin of 15.96% and a return on equity of 12.34%. Salesforce’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.62 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 9th. Investors of record on Wednesday, December 18th were paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.48%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, December 18th. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 26.32%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on CRM shares. Erste Group Bank upgraded shares of Salesforce from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. Barclays raised their price objective on Salesforce from $415.00 to $425.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market outperform” rating and issued a $450.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Cfra set a $343.00 price target on Salesforce in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Salesforce from $340.00 to $380.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, thirty-one have issued a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $377.63.

Insider Activity at Salesforce

In related news, insider Parker Harris sold 4,200 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $298.04, for a total transaction of $1,251,768.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 119,402 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $35,586,572.08. This represents a 3.40 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 436 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $332.28, for a total transaction of $144,874.08. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 7,057 shares in the company, valued at $2,344,899.96. This represents a 5.82 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 1,173,891 shares of company stock valued at $402,840,388 over the last quarter. 3.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.