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

Stock Yards Bank & Trust Co. trimmed its holdings in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 35.9% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 1,682 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after selling 944 shares during the period. Stock Yards Bank & Trust Co.’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $562,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of CRM. Alterna Wealth Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Salesforce during the 4th quarter valued at about $233,000. CENTRAL TRUST Co raised its position in shares of Salesforce by 7.8% during the 4th quarter. CENTRAL TRUST Co now owns 25,442 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $8,506,000 after purchasing an additional 1,850 shares during the period. Valley National Advisers Inc. increased its position in Salesforce by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 9,331 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $3,119,000 after buying an additional 127 shares during the period. McAdam LLC lifted its stake in Salesforce by 17.5% in the fourth quarter. McAdam LLC now owns 921 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $308,000 after buying an additional 137 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Round Rock Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 24.6% during the fourth quarter. Round Rock Advisors LLC now owns 1,398 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $467,000 after acquiring an additional 276 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.43% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently weighed in on CRM shares. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $390.00 to $425.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Northland Securities reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $440.00 price target (up previously from $400.00) on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Needham & Company LLC lifted their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $375.00 to $400.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Bank of America increased their target price on shares of Salesforce from $390.00 to $440.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, KeyCorp upgraded shares of Salesforce from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $440.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Friday, December 13th. One equities research 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 given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Salesforce currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $377.63.

Insider Buying and Selling at Salesforce

In related news, CEO Marc Benioff sold 317,105 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $346.78, for a total value of $109,965,671.90. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 12,162,457 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,217,696,838.46. This trade represents a 2.54 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 436 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $332.28, for a total value of $144,874.08. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 7,057 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,344,899.96. The trade was a 5.82 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 1,104,699 shares of company stock worth $382,108,847 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

Salesforce Stock Down 0.7 %

CRM opened at $339.28 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $324.69 billion, a PE ratio of 55.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.09 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. Salesforce, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $212.00 and a fifty-two week high of $369.00. The business has a 50-day moving average of $338.67 and a 200-day moving average of $297.99.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last posted its earnings results 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). 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 earned $1.62 earnings per share. Salesforce’s revenue was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.48 EPS for the current fiscal 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 given a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.47%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, December 18th. Salesforce’s payout ratio is 26.32%.

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.