Blue Trust Inc. Grows Stock Position in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Blue Trust Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 35.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 15,692 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 4,082 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc.’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $5,246,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of CRM. Infrastructure Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Salesforce during the third quarter worth $27,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL acquired a new position in Salesforce during the second quarter worth $33,000. Godsey & Gibb Inc. grew its holdings in Salesforce by 300.0% during the third quarter. Godsey & Gibb Inc. now owns 120 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 90 shares during the period. Annapolis Financial Services LLC grew its holdings in Salesforce by 135.6% during the third quarter. Annapolis Financial Services LLC now owns 139 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $38,000 after acquiring an additional 80 shares during the period. Finally, FSA Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Salesforce in the third quarter valued at $53,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.43% of the company’s stock.

Salesforce Trading Down 0.4 %

NYSE:CRM opened at $333.47 on Monday. Salesforce, Inc. has a 12-month low of $212.00 and a 12-month high of $369.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $319.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 54.85, a P/E/G ratio of 3.01 and a beta of 1.30. 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 business has a 50 day simple moving average of $336.73 and a 200 day simple moving average of $294.31.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last announced its 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). 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%. The firm’s revenue was up 8.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.62 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.48 EPS for the current year.

Salesforce Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently commented on CRM shares. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on Salesforce from $300.00 to $420.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Bank of America increased their target price on Salesforce from $390.00 to $440.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on Salesforce from $385.00 to $425.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on Salesforce from $360.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Northland Capmk upgraded Salesforce from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, thirty-one have given a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $377.63.

Insider Buying and Selling at Salesforce

In other news, insider Parker Harris sold 4,200 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $298.04, for a total value of $1,251,768.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 119,402 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $35,586,572.08. The trade was a 3.40 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $290.23, for a total value of $145,115.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 6,506 shares in the company, valued at $1,888,236.38. This represents a 7.14 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 1,173,891 shares of company stock valued at $402,840,388 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

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.