Emprise Bank Trims Holdings in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Emprise Bank decreased its holdings in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 3.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 4,628 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after selling 187 shares during the quarter. Salesforce comprises 0.9% of Emprise Bank’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 27th largest holding. Emprise Bank’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $1,547,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Aviance Capital Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Salesforce by 0.5% during the third quarter. Aviance Capital Partners LLC now owns 6,797 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $1,860,000 after buying an additional 33 shares in the last quarter. EWA LLC grew its position in shares of Salesforce by 1.7% during the third quarter. EWA LLC now owns 2,001 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $548,000 after buying an additional 33 shares in the last quarter. Umpqua Bank grew its position in shares of Salesforce by 0.4% during the third quarter. Umpqua Bank now owns 7,708 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $2,110,000 after buying an additional 34 shares in the last quarter. Principal Street Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Salesforce by 1.0% during the third quarter. Principal Street Partners LLC now owns 3,297 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $891,000 after buying an additional 34 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nvwm LLC boosted its holdings in Salesforce by 1.4% in the third quarter. Nvwm LLC now owns 2,565 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $667,000 after purchasing an additional 36 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.43% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Salesforce news, insider Parker Harris sold 4,200 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $289.87, for a total transaction of $1,217,454.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 118,514 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $34,353,653.18. This represents a 3.42 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider R David Schmaier sold 1,785 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $344.00, for a total value of $614,040.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 19,116 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,575,904. The trade was a 8.54 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 1,181,817 shares of company stock valued at $404,760,429 over the last 90 days. 3.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Salesforce Stock Up 0.0 %

Shares of NYSE CRM traded up $0.01 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $317.86. The stock had a trading volume of 1,418,203 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,424,983. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $335.82 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $289.73. Salesforce, Inc. has a 52 week low of $212.00 and a 52 week high of $369.00. The company has a market capitalization of $304.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 52.28, a P/E/G ratio of 3.21 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a current ratio of 1.11.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, December 3rd. The CRM provider reported $2.41 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.44 by ($0.03). Salesforce had a return on equity of 12.34% and a net margin of 15.96%. The firm had revenue of $9.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.35 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.62 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 8.3% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts anticipate that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 9th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, December 18th were given a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, December 18th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.50%. Salesforce’s payout ratio is currently 26.32%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have commented on CRM. Guggenheim downgraded shares of Salesforce from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $247.00 price objective for the company. in a report on Monday, January 6th. Loop Capital lifted their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $340.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $340.00 to $430.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Northland Securities reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $440.00 target price (up from $400.00) on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Citigroup raised their target price on Salesforce from $368.00 to $390.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating, thirty have assigned a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Salesforce currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $376.05.

Salesforce 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.