Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) Shares Purchased by Grove Bank & Trust

Grove Bank & Trust raised its position in shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 47.3% during the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 3,872 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,244 shares during the quarter. Grove Bank & Trust’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $1,039,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Athena Investment Management acquired a new stake in Salesforce during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $236,000. Jag Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 2,507.9% during the fourth quarter. Jag Capital Management LLC now owns 23,706 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $7,926,000 after purchasing an additional 22,797 shares during the last quarter. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp boosted its position in Salesforce by 2.7% during the 4th quarter. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp now owns 27,358 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $9,146,000 after purchasing an additional 723 shares during the period. Dash Acquisitions Inc. boosted its position in Salesforce by 2.6% during the 4th quarter. Dash Acquisitions Inc. now owns 60,521 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $21,785,000 after purchasing an additional 1,525 shares during the period. Finally, Millstone Evans Group LLC acquired a new stake in Salesforce in the fourth quarter worth $823,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.43% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Salesforce

In other news, insider Parker Harris sold 3,273 shares of the company’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 $931,430.34. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 125,146 shares in the company, valued at $35,614,048.68. The trade was a 2.55% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Brian Millham sold 3,937 shares of the company’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 value of $1,120,391.46. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 5,518 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,570,312.44. This trade represents a 41.64% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 34,111 shares of company stock valued at $9,299,283. 3.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently weighed in on CRM. Sanford C. Bernstein increased their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $243.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a report on Thursday, May 29th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on Salesforce from $340.00 to $385.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, May 29th. UBS Group decreased their price objective on Salesforce from $320.00 to $300.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, May 27th. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $400.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Wednesday, May 28th. Finally, Macquarie reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $320.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating, twenty-seven have issued a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $346.34.

Salesforce Price Performance

NYSE CRM opened at $263.63 on Tuesday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $268.49 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $299.25. The company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. The company has a market cap of $252.03 billion, a PE ratio of 43.36, a PEG ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 1.38. Salesforce, Inc. has a 1 year low of $227.77 and a 1 year high of $369.00.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, May 28th. The CRM provider reported $2.58 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.55 by $0.03. Salesforce had a return on equity of 12.34% and a net margin of 15.96%. The company had revenue of $9.83 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.74 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.44 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts predict that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.46 EPS for the current year.

Salesforce Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 10th. Investors of record on Wednesday, June 18th will be paid a $0.416 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, June 18th. This represents a $1.66 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.63%. Salesforce’s payout ratio is 25.98%.

Salesforce Company 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.