Whittier Trust Co. Acquires 1,521 Shares of Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Whittier Trust Co. boosted its position in Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 1.3% in the first quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 121,497 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,521 shares during the quarter. Whittier Trust Co.’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $32,603,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of CRM. Wulff Hansen & CO. raised its stake in shares of Salesforce by 3.5% in the fourth quarter. Wulff Hansen & CO. now owns 1,035 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $346,000 after acquiring an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. Seven Mile Advisory raised its stake in Salesforce by 2.3% in the fourth quarter. Seven Mile Advisory now owns 1,762 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $589,000 after buying an additional 39 shares in the last quarter. Liberty One Investment Management LLC raised its stake in Salesforce by 1.2% in the first quarter. Liberty One Investment Management LLC now owns 3,165 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $849,000 after buying an additional 39 shares in the last quarter. First Command Advisory Services Inc. raised its stake in Salesforce by 7.3% in the first quarter. First Command Advisory Services Inc. now owns 572 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $154,000 after buying an additional 39 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Clarity Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in Salesforce by 2.3% in the first quarter. Clarity Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,760 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $472,000 after buying an additional 40 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.43% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Miguel Milano sold 405 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $262.35, for a total transaction of $106,251.75. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 9,933 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,605,922.55. This represents a 3.92% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Parker Harris sold 1,142 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $262.35, for a total transaction of $299,603.70. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 136,824 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $35,895,776.40. This trade represents a 0.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 37,534 shares of company stock worth $10,028,795 in the last quarter. Insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

Salesforce Stock Up 0.5%

Shares of NYSE CRM opened at $259.45 on Tuesday. Salesforce Inc. has a 52-week low of $230.00 and a 52-week high of $369.00. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $271.83 and a 200-day moving average of $287.94. The stock has a market capitalization of $248.03 billion, a PE ratio of 40.60, a P/E/G ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 1.36. The company has a quick ratio of 1.07, a current ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 16.08% and a return on equity of 12.94%. 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 previous year, the company earned $2.44 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 7.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts anticipate that Salesforce Inc. will post 7.46 EPS for the current year.

Salesforce Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 10th. Investors of record on Wednesday, June 18th were given a dividend of $0.416 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, June 18th. This represents a $1.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.64%. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 25.98%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have weighed in on CRM shares. Barclays cut their price target on Salesforce from $425.00 to $347.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 29th. Guggenheim raised Salesforce from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, April 21st. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $400.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a report on Wednesday, May 28th. Northland Securities lowered their price objective on Salesforce from $423.00 to $396.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 29th. Finally, Mizuho lowered their price objective on Salesforce from $425.00 to $380.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 15th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, twenty-seven have given a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $348.16.

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.