Union Savings Bank Grows Holdings in Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Union Savings Bank increased its position in shares of Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 78.7% during the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 277 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 122 shares during the quarter. Union Savings Bank’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $74,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Salesforce in the fourth quarter worth about $3,599,867,000. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main raised its position in Salesforce by 926.4% in the fourth quarter. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main now owns 4,256,211 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $1,422,979,000 after acquiring an additional 3,841,521 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in Salesforce by 30,456.9% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,801,588 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $1,020,194,000 after acquiring an additional 3,789,147 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Salesforce in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,173,564,000. Finally, Invesco Ltd. raised its position in shares of Salesforce by 42.5% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 7,791,015 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $2,604,770,000 after purchasing an additional 2,325,156 shares during the period. 80.43% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 1,909 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $284.58, for a total value of $543,263.22. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 11,310 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,218,599.80. This trade represents a 14.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Brian Millham sold 3,937 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $284.58, for a total transaction of $1,120,391.46. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 5,518 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,570,312.44. The trade was a 41.64% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 34,111 shares of company stock valued at $9,299,283 in the last 90 days. 3.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Northland Securities lowered their price target on shares of Salesforce from $423.00 to $396.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 29th. Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $404.00 price target (up previously from $393.00) on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Thursday, May 29th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price target on shares of Salesforce from $425.00 to $375.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. DA Davidson reaffirmed an “underperform” rating and set a $200.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a report on Wednesday, May 28th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein upped their target price on shares of Salesforce from $243.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a report on Thursday, May 29th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, twenty-eight have given a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $349.08.

Salesforce Stock Performance

Shares of CRM stock opened at $260.79 on Friday. The company’s 50-day moving average is $268.51 and its 200 day moving average is $297.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a current ratio of 1.07. The company has a market capitalization of $249.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 1.38. Salesforce Inc. has a one year low of $230.00 and a one year high of $369.00.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 28th. The CRM provider reported $2.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.55 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $9.83 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.74 billion. Salesforce had a net margin of 16.08% and a return on equity of 12.94%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 7.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.44 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Salesforce Inc. will post 7.46 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 10th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, June 18th will be issued a dividend of $0.416 per share. This represents a $1.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.64%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, June 18th. Salesforce’s payout ratio is presently 25.98%.

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.