Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM) Shares Purchased by Trust Co. of Vermont

Trust Co. of Vermont boosted its holdings in shares of Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 6.0% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 46,655 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,647 shares during the period. Trust Co. of Vermont’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $12,520,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CRM. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Salesforce by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 19,955,353 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $6,656,078,000 after buying an additional 175,035 shares during the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings 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 lifted its holdings 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 purchased a new stake in Salesforce in the 4th quarter worth approximately $3,599,867,000. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew 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 hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on CRM shares. Canaccord Genuity Group decreased their target price on shares of Salesforce from $400.00 to $350.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, May 28th. Stephens cut their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $311.00 to $309.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 30th. Scotiabank decreased their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $400.00 to $345.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, March 17th. Oppenheimer reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $370.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Tuesday, June 10th. Finally, Robert W. Baird cut their price target on Salesforce from $430.00 to $400.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, twenty-eight have given a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $349.08.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Salesforce news, insider R David Schmaier sold 6,959 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $253.31, for a total value of $1,762,784.29. Following the sale, the insider now owns 36,090 shares in the company, valued at $9,141,957.90. The trade was a 16.17% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Srinivas Tallapragada sold 6,697 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $295.00, for a total value of $1,975,615.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 41,422 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,219,490. This trade represents a 13.92% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 26,284 shares of company stock valued at $6,996,762 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

Salesforce Price Performance

NYSE:CRM opened at $270.50 on Friday. Salesforce Inc. has a one year low of $230.00 and a one year high of $369.00. The stock has a market cap of $258.60 billion, a PE ratio of 42.33, a P/E/G ratio of 2.43 and a beta of 1.38. 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 stock has a 50 day moving average price of $269.86 and a 200 day moving average price of $295.19.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, May 28th. The CRM provider reported $2.58 earnings per share (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 company had revenue of $9.83 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.74 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.44 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 7.6% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that Salesforce Inc. will post 7.46 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 10th. Investors of record on Wednesday, June 18th will be given a dividend of $0.416 per share. This represents a $1.66 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.62%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, June 18th. Salesforce’s payout ratio is currently 25.98%.

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.