Inspire Trust Co. N.A. Buys 3,500 Shares of Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Inspire Trust Co. N.A. raised its stake in Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 63.6% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 9,000 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,500 shares during the quarter. Inspire Trust Co. N.A.’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $2,415,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of CRM. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. acquired a new stake in shares of Salesforce in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Accredited Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Salesforce in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Capital A Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Salesforce by 450.0% in the first quarter. Capital A Wealth Management LLC now owns 110 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 90 shares during the last quarter. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC lifted its position in shares of Salesforce by 314.8% in the first quarter. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 112 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 85 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Abound Financial LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Salesforce in the first quarter valued at approximately $31,000. 80.43% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Salesforce

In related news, CEO Marc Benioff sold 2,250 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $236.45, for a total transaction of $532,012.50. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 11,911,571 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,816,490,962.95. This represents a 0.02% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 44,282 shares of company stock worth $11,554,754. 3.00% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Salesforce Stock Up 2.4%

Shares of Salesforce stock opened at $237.14 on Thursday. Salesforce Inc. has a one year low of $226.48 and a one year high of $369.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a current ratio of 1.07 and a quick ratio of 1.07. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $261.72 and its 200 day moving average is $277.44. The firm has a market cap of $226.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.11, a PEG ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 1.37.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last announced its earnings results 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 company had revenue of $9.83 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.74 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.44 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that Salesforce Inc. will post 7.46 EPS for the current year.

Salesforce Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.7%. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio is presently 25.98%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on CRM. Northland Securities cut their price objective on Salesforce from $423.00 to $396.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 29th. DA Davidson reissued an “underperform” rating and set a $200.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a report on Wednesday, May 28th. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price target on Salesforce from $350.00 to $335.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 10th. JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market outperform” rating and issued a $430.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a report on Friday, July 11th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on Salesforce from $340.00 to $385.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, May 29th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, twenty-seven have given a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $346.84.

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.