Webster Bank N. A. Grows Stake in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Webster Bank N. A. grew its position in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 0.3% during the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 23,212 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 73 shares during the period. Webster Bank N. A.’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $6,229,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Agate Pass Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 18.9% during the first quarter. Agate Pass Investment Management LLC now owns 8,585 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $2,304,000 after buying an additional 1,364 shares during the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 29.9% during the first quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 1,927 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $517,000 after buying an additional 444 shares during the last quarter. First Hawaiian Bank grew its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 6.3% during the first quarter. First Hawaiian Bank now owns 14,164 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $3,801,000 after buying an additional 838 shares during the last quarter. Boston Common Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 17.5% during the first quarter. Boston Common Asset Management LLC now owns 80,259 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $21,538,000 after buying an additional 11,958 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Legacy Wealth Management LLC MS purchased a new stake in shares of Salesforce during the first quarter valued at $228,000. 80.43% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have commented on CRM. 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 report on Thursday. Barclays lowered their price target on shares of Salesforce from $425.00 to $347.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday. UBS Group lowered their price target on shares of Salesforce from $320.00 to $300.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday. Bank of America lowered their price target on shares of Salesforce from $440.00 to $400.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, Piper Sandler upped their price target on shares of Salesforce from $315.00 to $335.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, thirty have given a buy rating and five have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $342.90.

Salesforce Trading Down 3.1%

Shares of Salesforce stock opened at $267.36 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’s 50 day simple moving average is $267.78 and its 200-day simple moving average is $305.28. The stock has a market cap of $257.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 43.97, a P/E/G ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 1.42. Salesforce, Inc. has a 1-year low of $212.00 and a 1-year high of $369.00.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 28th. The CRM provider reported $2.58 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 return on equity of 12.34% and a net margin of 15.96%. The firm’s revenue was up 7.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.44 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.46 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 24th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 10th were issued a dividend of $0.42 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 10th. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.63%. This is an increase from Salesforce’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 25.98%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Salesforce news, insider Miguel Milano sold 705 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $279.44, for a total value of $197,005.20. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 9,323 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,605,219.12. This represents a 7.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Amy E. Weaver sold 6,221 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $301.00, for a total transaction of $1,872,521.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 46,750 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $14,071,750. This trade represents a 11.74% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 46,553 shares of company stock valued at $12,897,323 over the last quarter. 3.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.