Kentucky Trust Co Sells 95 Shares of Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Kentucky Trust Co cut its stake in shares of Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 1.3% during the first quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 7,315 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after selling 95 shares during the quarter. Salesforce comprises 1.2% of Kentucky Trust Co’s holdings, making the stock its 28th largest position. Kentucky Trust Co’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $1,963,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of CRM. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Salesforce by 0.9% during 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 during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its position in Salesforce by 1.4% during 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 last quarter. Northern Trust Corp raised its stake in shares of 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 bought a new stake in shares of Salesforce in the 4th quarter worth about $3,599,867,000. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its stake in shares of Salesforce by 23.2% during the 4th 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. 80.43% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Salesforce

In other news, insider R David Schmaier sold 6,959 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $253.31, for a total transaction of $1,762,784.29. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 36,090 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,141,957.90. The trade was a 16.17% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Brian Millham sold 3,937 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $284.58, for a total transaction of $1,120,391.46. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 5,518 shares in the company, valued at $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. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 34,111 shares of company stock worth $9,299,283. Insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

Salesforce Trading Down 1.4%

NYSE CRM opened at $258.98 on Friday. Salesforce Inc. has a 52 week low of $230.00 and a 52 week high of $369.00. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $268.39 and a 200 day moving average price of $298.23. The company has a quick ratio of 1.07, a current ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. The firm has a market cap of $247.59 billion, a PE ratio of 40.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 1.38.

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

Salesforce Cuts Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently commented on CRM. Loop Capital cut their price target on shares of Salesforce from $330.00 to $300.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $404.00 target price (up previously from $393.00) on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Thursday, May 29th. Royal Bank Of Canada lowered Salesforce from an “outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $420.00 to $275.00 in a research note on Thursday, May 29th. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price objective on Salesforce from $425.00 to $375.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 31st. Finally, Mizuho reduced their target price on Salesforce from $425.00 to $380.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 15th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, twenty-eight have given a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $349.08.

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.