Wells Trecaso Financial Group LLC Purchases Shares of 21,645 Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Wells Trecaso Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 21,645 shares of the CRM provider’s stock, valued at approximately $5,809,000. Salesforce comprises 1.9% of Wells Trecaso Financial Group LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 17th largest position.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in CRM. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Salesforce by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 19,955,353 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $6,656,078,000 after buying an additional 175,035 shares in the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its stake in Salesforce by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 12,453,872 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $4,163,703,000 after acquiring an additional 177,321 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp increased its stake in Salesforce by 18.3% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 11,224,927 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $3,752,830,000 after acquiring an additional 1,736,667 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Salesforce in the fourth quarter worth about $3,599,867,000. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its stake in Salesforce by 23.2% during the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 8,938,536 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $2,988,422,000 after purchasing an additional 1,683,233 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 80.43% of the company’s stock.

Salesforce Stock Down 0.5%

Shares of NYSE CRM opened at $262.51 on Wednesday. Salesforce Inc. has a 1 year low of $229.23 and a 1 year high of $369.00. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $268.43 and its 200-day moving average is $299.00. The company has a current ratio of 1.07, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. The firm has a market capitalization of $250.96 billion, a PE ratio of 41.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 1.38.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 16.08% and a return on equity of 12.94%. The business had revenue of $9.83 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.74 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.44 earnings per share. Salesforce’s revenue was up 7.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts expect that Salesforce Inc. will post 7.46 EPS for the current 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 given a $0.416 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, June 18th. This represents a $1.66 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.63%. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio is currently 25.98%.

Insider Transactions at Salesforce

In other Salesforce news, CEO Brian Millham sold 3,937 shares of the company’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 $1,120,391.46. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 5,518 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,570,312.44. This represents a 41.64% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Miguel Milano sold 705 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, May 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $279.44, for a total transaction of $197,005.20. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 9,323 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,605,219.12. This trade represents a 7.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 34,111 shares of company stock worth $9,299,283 in the last three months. Insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CRM has been the topic of several analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price objective on Salesforce from $425.00 to $375.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. DA Davidson reiterated an “underperform” rating and issued a $200.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Wednesday, May 28th. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price objective on Salesforce from $425.00 to $375.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, March 31st. Northland Securities reduced their target price on shares of Salesforce from $423.00 to $396.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 29th. Finally, Scotiabank lowered their target price on shares of Salesforce from $400.00 to $345.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, March 17th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating, twenty-seven have given a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $346.34.

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.